24 Revivification
by jjblack
Summary: 24 - Revivification is a story somewhat interdepedent of the first three seasons of 24. It invovles characters we know (Jack, Palmer, Tony, Michelle) as well as some new ones. The first three hours are posted, so sit back and enjoy my story. Please review
1. 6:00 PM 7:00 PM

24  
  
THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 6:00 P.M. AND 7:00 P.M.  
  
EVENTS OCCUR IN REAL TIME.  
  
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 06:00:00 PM  
  
On the western horizon of the city of Los Angeles, the sun begins to set. It is a beautiful and warm day and in a city park, people are enjoying the late afternoon weather.  
The scene was much different, though, in an alleyway near the park. A group of eight people, all African American, are drinking some Coors, and throwing the empty bottles at a steady, but human target. A teenage American boy has been tied to a trash can in the shadows, and is being used to smash open the empty bottles. There are numerous cuts all over the young man's body, and the latest bottle to smack him right on the chest causes him to howl in pain as the alcohol sears into his skin. His half-torn up rag T-shirt and ripped jeans indicate the type of life this boy lived before this time; the time of his death. For the gang of eight were getting restless; a tall, but slender member gets up and whips out a gun. Without remorse, he shoots the white boy dead with just one shot. The remaining members all cheer.  
But their celebration is about to be cut short, for they are not alone. Watching from behind a corner, a number of all Caucasian girls and boys, counting 20 in number, are preparing for attack.  
A premature shot is fired.  
The gang of African Americans look up startlingly. The opposing group have come out from hiding. There is a period of extended silence between both groups. From behind, a member of the African American gang is shot. They turn around only to see that they are surrounded. They take out guns and begins firing.  
People begin falling left and right. But the one gang is outnumbered. They are reduced to only two: one boy and one girl. They drop their weapons in surrender.  
The group of Americans send out two members to grab the two. They are driven away from the blood-infested scene as the roar of sirens are heard in the distance.  
The lone African American boy has a face of readiness. He scolds at the white men like a tough man, but they only laugh at his stupidity.  
The lone African American girl has a face full of tears, for she knows the kind of trouble she has gotten herself into too. Nicole Palmer knows her life couldn't get any worse. She was at the lowest of lows.  
Nicole Palmer and her friend walk in the middle of their enemy, one prepared for his fate, the other wishing to warp back in time.  
The sound of sirens roar...  
  
COUNTER TERRORIST UNIT, LOS ANGELES 06:03:23  
  
Leaning back in his chair, Tony Almeida, director of CTU, sat in silence in his office. Down below on the main floor, things were quiet. Many people had been sent home early for the day, and Tony was planning on doing the same. He turned his attention away from the main floor and swung around in his seat to face another office. Distantly, he could see Chase Edmunds working without rush in one office, while outside the office Chloe O'Brien typed rapidly on her computer. He again shifted his attention downstairs to an empty office space directly below his. This was the work station of Kim Bauer, and Tony remembered then that she and Jack left early to go have dinner together. The past few months had been rough on everybody at CTU. Especially Tony.  
He then moved his eyes more to the right to the empty work space of his wife, Michelle Dessler. She was absent as well.  
Tony grabbed the phone. He was about to dial a number until he reconsidered. He hadn't spoken to her in a week. She had left for Washington on a job interview and also some personal time. They had been having marital problems lately, and the latest fight resulted in the two not speaking to each other in the past week.  
Tony was now on the verge of tears just thinking about his current situation.  
He had made up his mind.  
  
High above the country, a normal American Airlines flight soared through the cloudless sky. On board, Michelle Dessler looked out the window to the far-off ground below.  
"Attention passengers," the flight attendant was making an announcement. "Please fasten your seat belts as we are beginning our descent to our final destination, Los Angeles. Please put all trays in their up-right and locked positions. We will be landing shortly. Thank you and we hope you enjoy the remainder of your flight."  
Michelle sighs. Her cell phone rings.  
"Dessler."  
"...hey."  
She recognized the voice instantly, that of her husband's. "Tony, I want to be the one to say this first, this whole thing has been my fault. I'm sorry."  
Chuckling, Tony replies. "Michelle, this isn't your fault. You're not the one who should be sorry. I am. I haven't found the time for us. Work has been so hectic and all."  
Michelle smiles. "Tony...I love you. I'm so sorry." Michelle is suddenly tapped on the shoulder.  
"Miss, if you please, no cell phones on our descent. Please turn it off."  
"Of course..." Michelle turns away from the aisle. "Tony, we're beginning to land. I have to go."  
"Yeah...I love you."  
Michelle answered, "I love you, too."  
As she dropped the cell phone to her knees, she couldn't help but cry for the man she loved. She put her head back against the seat and closed her eyes.  
The plane begins to descend...  
  
06:05:57  
  
A shadowy figure walks gracefully down the hallway. The evident sound of high-heels echos throughout the entire floor. A tall, but slender woman with long, blond hair comes to a stop at a doorway. She opens the door and enters the lit room.  
"Adrian, there you are. Where have you been for the past few hours? I haven't been able to reach you since noon." A short and rather heavy and bald man, middle aged, comes running to Adrian Moore.  
"Sorry, I've been around looking for a good story. What's going on, Keohane?"  
"First off, I told you, don't call me Keohane. Call me Steve."  
Adrian's face just tells it all: she couldn't care what she called him.  
"And secondly, Rebecca Kolb has just been named Reporter of the Month by-"  
Adrian grabs the newspaper Steve Keohane is holding outstretched in his hands. "Give me that paper."  
Steve watches nervously. His fingers twitched with anxiousness on what her reaction would be to the news. His answer came right away.  
"Rebecca Kolb can just go kiss my ss." Frustrated, she crumbles up the newspaper and chucks it into the garbage can near Keohane's desk.  
"I need a story." Adrian walks to her desk and slumps herself down on the chair. "Help me, Steve."  
Steve Keohane jumps up on his desk adjacent from Adrian's and sits on it, with his feet dangling. "Well, how about you cover the L.A. street fair?"  
"Tried it, already at least 10 reporters there."  
"How about the Robotics Convention?"  
"Are you crazy? I'm not spending 6 hours with a bunch of robot nerds."  
"Well, you can try to report on President Palmer's campaign here in L.A."  
Adrian flew up from her chair. "The President is here, in Los Angeles? Why?"  
"Oh, you didn't hear? He is here on his national tour to try and gain more supporters for the up-coming election. It's gonna be close, you know. Keeler's gonna be tough to beat. He's got my vote. Well, only because I'm a Republican. What are you, by the way?"  
Adrian isn't paying attention. She scrambles through her desk for a pen and some paper.  
"Adrian?"  
"Huh? Listen Steve, where is the President currently?"  
"I believe he is at that...that nice hotel, you know on Olive Blvd?"  
"You mean the Golden Hills Grande Hotel?"  
"Yeah, that's the one." Steve stared at Adrian with curiousness on his face. "You going to see him?"  
"I'm about to have the story of the century."  
Without another word, Adrian swings open the door and is gone.  
  
GOLDEN HILLS GRANDE HOTEL 06:08:10  
  
The mood was plainly intimate in the large ball room and dining hall inside the hotel. The lighting was dim, the tone just right for President David Palmer and his staff on yet another campaign dinner. It was also somebody's birthday, the President's in particular. He had invited many of his friends to come share his special day with him, but he wasn't in the mood. There were other, and more important things on his mind.  
Soft music plays in the background and throughout the room, people are quietly enjoying the company of each other. This was true except at the head table, where the President sat alone in thinking. He thought about many things these days, but one thing was predominately more present over other issues: there was the possibility that he wouldn't be re-elected for a second term.  
Sensing trouble, Bill Lawton approaches the troubled President. "Sir?"  
Palmer remains quiet.  
Bill rolls his eyes. "Mr. President, today is your birthday, it is not a day to worry about things. Leave that for tomorrow."  
Palmer still remains quiet.  
Bill gives up and sits down next to Palmer. "Sir; what's on your mind?"  
Palmer finally moves and faces Bill. Not wanting to have another political talk with him, he lies. "I'm lonely. I haven't felt right since I lost Anne."  
"Well, sir, I'm no love expert, but I do know that when the time is right, that true love will find you."  
Palmer flinches. "It's not all about the girlfriend thing. Sherry is a criminal to this country, Nicole has just disappeared, and Keith is in full-time training in Taiwan. And Wayne..."  
Bill shakes his head, obviously knowing where the President was taking the conversation. "David, come out and talk. Just talk. Please."  
They stare each other in the eye. Palmer obeys, "Fine."  
The President gets up from his seat and follows Bill to a crowd of people, standing bunched together on the dance floor.  
Before entering the pack, Palmer closes his eyes and tries to relax.  
  
Watching from a distance, Jack Bauer, dressed fully in a tuxedo, sits back on a chair. His eyes are fixed on one unspecific location. The past weeks have been hard for Jack and someone else; someone once close to him.  
"Dad."  
The single syllable startles Jack. He comes out of his fixed gaze and sees that his only daughter Kim has seated herself down across from Jack.  
"Dad."  
"Sorry, honey. What's up?"  
Kim seats herself and grabs a piece of bread centered on the table. Unwrapping the napkin around her silverware, she finds the butter and brings it to her plate. Now having her napkin on her lap, she takes her knife and spreads butter on the piece of bread. Jack watches.  
"Kim, please don't give me the silent treatment again...Kim!" Jack becomes angry with his daughter, even after all they've been through.  
Kim looks away. "Why did you have to bring me to this stupid dinner anyway?"  
"Because President Palmer asked me to come and he told me to bring a guest. Besides, you and I need to talk."  
"Talk about what, dad? I don't want to talk about Chase. I know you hate him."  
"I don't hate him," Jack pauses for a moment, "it's just that sometimes he gets out of control."  
"Dad!" Kim lunges up from her chair. The table shakes and an empty wine glass flies off onto the floor, shattering into pieces. "You just don't like him. You want me to be miserable, I'm miserable, okay? You disrespect him and you treat him like he was a piece of sh!t. I can never forgive you for what you did to him." Tears begin to form in her eyes. She stares into the eyes of her father, not believing that he could do things like that.  
Jack interrupts her. "Honey, I'm sorry, but we were on a sting operation and Chase got in the way. That's why I had to knock him out and that's why I had to point the gun at his head and pull the trigger...to gain the Salazar's trust. You have to understand this."  
Kim is now crying. "How could you?"  
Jack begins to lose control. "We've talked about this before again and again. Kim...just come back to work. We need you at CTU."  
"You don't need me anywhere."  
With that, she throws down the napkin resting on her lap and tearfully, walks right out of the room. Jack gets up and follows her.  
"Kim! Kim!"  
  
People are flying by each other quickly. Most of these people walking around the complex are wearing military uniform. Others are dressed nicely. A situation has obviously just come up. From down the busy hallway, a tall man comes walking nearer. General Andrew Hadley wastes no time in entering a large circular room where many other military officials are in waiting. They all rise when he enters.  
"It is true. The warehouse we raided two hours ago in the Middle East, location undisclosed to some of us with low security clearance," He eyes some military personnel, "contains chemical weaponry. Not only does it contain chemical weaponry, but specially designed military weapons and equipment as well. I have been told that there is enough cargo in that warehouse to win a war against this country." He pauses and presses a button on the wall. The lights dim and a small piece of paper appears on the screen. Everyone focuses their attention to the screen where this paper has some information written on it.  
"This," he points at the screen, "is a copy of a shipping order found in this warehouse. This particular shipping order has ordered the warehouse to send out a shipment of these chemical weapons. The thing that I haven't mentioned yet is that even with the side rooms at full capacity, the entire main room was clear of anything. This is where we found this."  
Another man rises. "But where were the weapons headed?"  
General Hadley stares at the man. "They are set to arrive sometime tonight..."  
The same man speaks. "Where?"  
"Somewhere inside the United States."  
The man asking the questions seats himself down at the mention that the United States might be attacked sometime soon.  
"First thing's first; contact the President. He will want to be apprised of everything first. Then, contact NSA and all other security agencies. And Colonel Gallagher, contact CTU Los Angeles. We have strong evidence that this terrorist attack will occur in Los Angeles sometime within the next 24 hours." A prolonged silence is held. Finally, Hadley speaks again, this time in a bolder tone. "Let's get to work."  
  
06:13:43 06:13:44 06:13:45 06:13:46 06:13:47 06:13:48  
  
"Chase."  
Chloe O'Brien knocks on the door of the office, really Jack's office. If Jack knew that Chase also used his office when he wasn't around, well, he knew the consequences.  
"Chase."  
"What is it, Chloe?"  
Chloe is taken aback by the sudden tone in his voice. "Why are you always so rude to me?"  
Chase stops working and leans back in the chair. "Chloe...what do you want?"  
Chloe answers immediately. "I just wanted to know if you filed those transcripts yet?"  
"No, Chloe, I didn't" The exaggeration in his voice is evident.  
"Chase! You know that Tony asked you to file those papers. You know the mood he's in these days."  
Chase turns in his chair, facing the office of the director of CTU, currently occupied by Director Almeida. "Don't worry, Chloe; I'll do it before I leave."  
"Why can't you just do it now, Chase?"  
Chase turns back to face her. "Goodbye Chloe."  
Chloe stares at him. With a short "humpph," Chloe re-opens the door and walks quickly back to her desk.  
Chase looked back toward Tony's office and watched him type. He couldn't but help feel sorry for him; his life had been a mess lately. And then he remembered; so had his.  
  
Zipping down the three-lane highway, a car comes speeding down the road, outpassing the others.  
Inside this car, a woman of about 40 years with her nephew of 16 years are sitting in silence. The young man taps his fingers on the window. He gets bored.  
"So how's work?"  
The aunt is surprised by the sudden question of her nephew. "Hell...what else is new."  
The young man chuckles. These were the times of his life he liked most. His mind shifted in thought to thinking about being with his aunt to school. He had so much homework to do tomorrow. The very thought of this was enough to make him ask yet another question. "So why aren't you interested in dating?"  
"Excuse me?" Lori Ronan again wasn't expecting this question. Her nephew, Jason Bulger, or Jay as his friends called him, turned his head from looking out the window to staring at his rather short aunt with short black hair. Oppositely, Jay had dark blond hair and was very tall as compared with his aunt. Finally comprehending his question, Lori answers, "Did you just ask me about my love life?"  
Jay laughs. "I'm sorry. You don't have to answer if you don't want to. Just curious and bored."  
The air conditioner suddenly begins blasting cold air.  
"Well, you won't have to be bored much longer. We'll be back at your parent's house in the next hour for their cocktail party tonight." Lori stops talking for a moment, taking in her surroundings. "You've got a Starbucks near your house, right? I want to get a cup of hot tea."  
On a day so hot as this one, Jay couldn't imagine why.  
  
BANG! BANG! BANG!  
Jack Bauer continues to bang his fists against the door o the women's bathroom.  
"Kim! Please! Open the door! I'm sorry!" Jack finally gives in and falls to the ground. A woman walking by gives a stare; Jack ignores it. He looks around the beautiful hallway he is currently occupying. The golden ceiling and the red carpet really made the feeling of the hotel grand. The walls were wallpapered with beautiful sketches of all different kinds of things. He took a moment to take in all of his surroundings when a sudden deep voice startled him.  
"Is something wrong, Jack?"  
Jack looked up only to see the face of President Palmer. "No...everything's fine. It's just that the past few months have been hard..."  
"Hard on all of us, Jack. Including me. I'm sure you've heard about Sherry."  
Jack looks down toward his feet. He knew about what had happened in recent weeks in the developments of Palmer's ex-wife. And it wasn't good news. "I have sir."  
"Well, you can't feel sorry for her. The possibility of Sherry ending up in jail is her fault; not anyone elses."  
"Yes, sir" Jack lifts up his head to face the tall President he knew so well.  
Jack is about to speak again when the President interrupts his train of thought. "Jack...I really appreicate all of the work you've done for me...for this country. It's been a long road. But I have to say that it isn't looking good for me for a second term. Keeler is beginning to pull ahead." Palmer stops for a moment, contemplating what he said, and what he was planning to say. "Jack...after all of this, I think I have finally done something horrible. Something no President should have ever done. But I did." The silence in the hallway is so great that the light footsteps of people above them are heard. "Jack...there's something that I need to tell you. You may not understand it right now, but I did it for--"  
"Mr. President." A tall, rather elder looking man with a rather stern expression and a very choked voice stands by himself facing the President and Jack.  
"Robbie. What are you doing here?"  
"We have an urgent situation, Mr. President. I need you to come with me immediately." The stern expression was fixed on his face, never moving.  
"Come where?"  
"To an undisclosed location, sir. Please; come now."  
It seemed like he had no choice. "Jack...I'm sorry. It looks like I've got to go."  
"I understand, Mr. President."  
"Thank you for coming, Jack. It really means a lot to me."  
"Yes, sir." Jack gets up and begins walking away from the President and Robbie when Robbie calls out to him. "Mr. Bauer; as head of NSA, I'm going to have to ask you to head back to CTU. This situation does involve national security."  
"What's this about?" Jack is quick to ask this.  
"I'm not authorized to explain it to you at this time. Please, Jack, go to CTU."  
"Alright...I'll go."  
"Good...follow me, Mr. President."  
With a final nod to Jack, the President follows the elderly Robbie Lohse to a nearby doorway. As they walk through, Jack then remembers that the President never got to tell him what he so desperately needed to say.  
  
06:18:03  
  
Kimberly Bauer sat by herself in one of the stalls of the bathroom with her feet off the ground. Tears were visible in her eyes, and her arms were outstretched around her uplifted knees.  
She thought about Chase; poor Chase. She could only imagine both the mental and physical pain that Jack forced him to go through all because of this "secret sting operation," as her dad would call it.  
Speaking of her dad, she sat there and thought about the man that had done so much to protect his country. That she could be proud of for him. But he had always done it the hard way, doing whatever possible to protect both the nation, and his family.  
Kim thought about her past family problems. She remembered that day; that horrible day when her mom passed away. It was the worst day of her life, by far. She remembered Nina Myers, the woman her father once...could she even think of it?  
And now, after all they've been through, her father was turning away from her. Soon, she would have a new mom, or "step-mom" as they say. The very idea of having a motherly figure made the tears slowly water down her pale face.  
Kim put her hand inside her pocket and reached in, grabbing a small picture her dad had given her weeks earlier. Every time she looked at it, it made her think of her deceased mother. But she just couldn't understand how Jack could be interested in another woman...after all this...  
The picture drops to the bathroom floor, with the glimmering face of Claudia Salazar staring back up at her future step-daughter.  
  
"Hey Simon."  
Tony Almeida stands over the tall CTU techie with a file in his hand.  
  
"Yeah Tony?" Simon Richter speakes loudly and distinctively.  
"I need you to file this, please."  
"Sure." Simon takes the file and gets up from his desk. He walks away.  
As Tony watches him go, Chloe comes running over to Tony.  
"Tony; NSA Director Robbie Taylor is on the phone for you."  
"Alright, I'll be right there."  
"Tony, he wants you now." The accent on the word 'now' was apparent.  
Tony sighs. "Fine...put him through here."  
"Sure." Chloe goes walking away as Tony stands over Simon's now empty station. He picks up the phone.  
Hearing a click on the other end of the line, Tony waits for a salutation.  
"Mr. Almeida, this is NSA Director Taylor. Are we on a secure line?"  
Tony's stomach dropped a notch. That infamous question only meant one thing: the possibility of a disaster at hand. "...Yes..." Becoming quite nervous, he repeats what he just said. "Yes, yes sir."  
"Good. Now listen, Mr, Almeida. We have a situation at hand. You'll be briefed at a later time, but I'm going to have to ask you to call in all of your people."  
"When...now?"  
"Yes...now. Do it. I'll get back to you."  
Tony hangs up the phone. He puts his head into his hands and sat down on Simon's chair.  
"What's up?" The voice of Simon is heard as he leans over the screen separating his station from a walkway.  
"Simon; I'm going to need you to call in all of our personnel."  
"What?"  
"Look, just do it."  
"Fine, when should I tell them to be in?"  
Tony raises his head and stares straight into Simon's eyes. "Tell them to come in now."  
Simon raises an eyebrow. "Alright. I'll tell Chloe."  
As Simon walked away from Tony, Tony then realized that the night wasn't off to a good start. His hope of a relaxing night at home had diminished.  
  
Jack Bauer walks once again to the door of the women's restrooms. He is about to knock on it again when the door opens and Kim walks slowly out.  
  
"Kim."  
"Dad...I don't want to talk. I'm really tired. I just want to go home."  
Jack doesn't buy this. "Kim, we have to talk. I'm not"  
Kim begins walking away.  
"Kim." Jack watches as his enstranged daughter leaves him. "Kim. I love you." She still didn't stop. "Kim."  
Without another word, Kimberly Bauer had left the main hallway and was gone.  
  
06:22:35 06:22:36 06:22:37 06:22:38 06:22:39 06:22:40  
  
President Palmer is seated at a table in a conference room with his chief-of-staff, Bill Lawton. Another woman is also seated at the table; Alicia Donaldson. A video screen is on the main wall of the room, and it is currently blue, waiting to be connected to another computer.  
The door opens and in walks Robbie Lohse. "Mr. President...Bill..." As he turns his head, he comes to the red-headed, curly haired Alicia. "Ms. Donaldson."  
Alicia, wearing a womanly business suit painted black and grey, stares at the elder NSA director. Their glances toward one another indicate trouble between the two.  
"Alright...Gentlemen...ladies..." Palmer tries to cool down the harsh atmosphere. "Let us get on with this."  
"Of course, Mr. President." Robbie sits himself down opposite Alicia. Bill continues to remain silent.  
"What is this about, Robbie?"  
"Mr. President; before we begin, I'd like to conference in with CTU, Los Angeles and Director Almeida as well as some top U.S. officials."  
Robbie picks up a remote and clicks on the screen. The main CTU conference room lights up, with Tony sitting in the head chair, and Simon and Chloe sitting around the table as well. A screen next to that brings to life the picture of the table of U.S. officials headed by General Hadley.  
"Good evening, Mr. President."  
President Palmer acknowledges his salutation by the military personnel and CTU.  
Bill finally speaks. "Let's get on with it."  
"Of course." He pauses for a moment as everyone remains silent, waiting to hear what this was all about. "We have good reason to believe that the United States will be attacked today, in a way never seen by human kind." This comes to a suprise to some; to others, it is only old news.  
"What kind of attack?" President Palmer asks.  
"Chemical, sir. Now, if I could, General Hadley will explain more about this."  
Everyone re-focuses their attention to the strong and determined general standing in front of them. He begins.  
"Mr. President. A few minutes ago we received conformation from the Middle East that a warehouse containing chemical weaponry and other weapons of war was found. When General Williams invaded the warehouse about an hour ago with his team, they examined the underground bunker from front to back, finding that some of this weaponry had already been shipped out." Tony flinches in his seat nervously. The General continues. "We found a shipping order, sending these weapons to American soil."  
The President is anxious, "Where?"  
"We don't know, sir."  
President Palmer and Bill exchange glances of horror.  
"It could be anywhere. They're set to arrive sometime in the U.S. tonight. We don't know when either."  
Alicia puts her face into her hands. Chloe looks over to Simon, who closes his eyes.  
"Mr. President. This leads me to another point. You know by now about the numerous racial violence sweeping over Los Angeles in the past 24 hours. We believe, from a non-specific source, that these uprisings are only a cover-up for what may happen to the U.S. today. Considering the potential ties we found just a few hours ago linking this sub-Ku Klux Klan group to a known terrorist group, we have reason to believe that these chemical weapons will arrive in Los Angeles in the next few hours. " General Hadley stops.  
The President gives a chuckle.  
"Is there something funny about this, Mr. President?"  
"No, Andrew. It's just that this attack taking place in Los Angeles is nothing more than a hunch. This potential tie between this American hate group and a Muslim hate group just doesn't make sense. Both of these groups believe in very different causes."  
"Yes, Mr. President. That is true, but we have evidence that proves"  
"That proves what? You know what, I think this is one of your ploys, Andrew. You just don't want me to stay in Los Angeles, that is what this is all about. You are just saying Los Angeles is the proposed place of attacking because you want me to leave just because of the history this city has had with disasters. Not this time, General. I'm staying. Unless you can give me hard evidence that this attack will occur in Los Angeles in the next 24 hours; I'm staying." Palmer, now standing, stares into the screen like a madman.  
"Mr. President."  
"Andrew, maybe we need a little break." Bill interrupts.  
"That will be fine, everyone. When we return, we'll anaylze the specific chemical agents and detail how big of an attack this could be." Robbie turns to look at all of the people listening to him, most of them sick to their stomachs.  
Palmer gets up from the table and darts out of the room, as everyone else realizes the stress they are all about to go through...  
  
06:27:52  
  
Darkness continues to fall upon the abandoned streets of Los Angeles. The scene switches to the basement of a very old building, where the white gang's two prisoners are being brought inside. The two of them know not to resist, especially Nicole Palmer and her friend, Maurice. The people bringing them inside stop their walking inside a small, smelly, and dark room. The walls are all made out of cement, and the only light comes from a small, upper window in the corner. The people bringing the two in leave them. As they walk out of the room through the only exit, a tough-looking white man enters. Wearing a sleeveless, white shirt and ripped jeans, he moves closer to his enemies.  
"Well...look who we stumbled upon today?" The white man named Rob speaks loudly and decisively. "Two mother fuers beating the hell out of one of my friends, Pat...and he's dead?"  
Nicole and Maurice stare at this strange man talking to them.  
"Well, did you kill him?"  
Silence.  
"Huh?" Rob loses his patience and attacks Maurice, banging him against a wall. He begins punching him in the face, then the stomach. "Talk to me, you stupid son of a b!tch!"  
"Stop it!" Nicole darts upward. Rob throws Maurice to the ground. "And who are you--" He then realizes through the light who he's seeing. "You're..you're the President's daughter, Nicole, aren't ya?"  
"..yes...yes, I am."  
Rob stares at her, knowing that him kidnapping the President of the United States daughter couldn't end up in a positive way. He slaps Nicole on the face and she falls to the ground. She screams in agony.  
He turns back to Maurice. "Who are you?"  
He remains silent.  
"You answer me, you little piece of sh!t."  
He picks up Maurice and throws him into the wall. He bounces off and hits the floor. Blood oozes out of his body, in all directions. Rob begins kicking him in the stomach area. Maurice cries and screams in shear pain. After Rob is satified with his work, he rolls the unconsious body to the wall.  
Nicole remains lying on the floor, watching Rob closely. The fear she had couldn't have been greater.  
"You dumb niers. Don't know anything." With that said, he begins to laugh. He walks out of the room. As he leaves the room, he closes the door and walks down a hallway, still hearing the constant screaming of Nicole and Maurice...  
  
GOLDEN HILLS GRANDE HOTEL 06:31:27  
  
In a large room, a group of press reporters are all gathering for a briefing by the President's administration. Noticiably present is Adrian Moore, hiding among the gigantic crowd of press reporters. The door to the room opens and Jenny Dodge, the President's Press Secretary enters. Escorted by Secret Service, they immediately surround the area. She walks right up to the podium. The noise dies down.  
"Good evening, everyone. I'm sorry the President couldn't be here right now, but he's in a very important meeting with his staff. An important situation took him from his birthday party to the Hotel conference room, where he is now. There is no reason for alarm; the impending situation is under control by President Palmer. All questions will be answered at a later time. Thank you." With those brief words, she steps off of the podium and begins to leave as everyone shouts at once, "Jenny!" She ignores those shouts and continues leaving until a familiar face intercepts her.  
"Ms. Dodge, my name is Adrian Moore with the L.A. Gazette. I need to see President Palmer."  
Jenny looks at her like she has two heads. "Of course you can't see the President. No member of the press"  
"Either you let me see the President, or I'll spill the beans about chemical weaponry being delivered to Los Angeles."  
Jenny, who was about to leave, stops dead in her tracks. She's absolutely horrified. "How did you-"  
"I have my sources. Now either let me see him, or you risk the chance of public panic. You wouldn't want that, would you?"  
Jenny stares at Adrian, then is escorted out of the room by Secret Service.  
Adrian watches through the glass as she goes.  
  
Tony works in his office with a sick feeling inside. What would happen when Michelle found out about the impending crisis. He didn't know.  
The phone rang, sounding its usual, 'beep, beep, bee-eep.' He picks it up.  
"Hello?"  
"Tony, it's Jack. Listen, I'm on my way back to CTU, something's going on."  
"Yeah, we know."  
"What's going on, Tony?"  
"We've got a threat of a chemical attack in Los Angeles sometime today."  
"Chemical?" Jack continues driving nervously. "Alright, look, I'll be back at CTU as soon as I can."  
"What about Kim?"  
"I don't think so, Tony."  
Tony sighs. "Alright, Jack. See you in a bit."  
Tony hangs up the phone and looks over to Jack's office, where Chase is still working.  
Tony gets up and walks out of his office. He passes the stairs and walks by Chloe's desk. She stares at him weirdly. He ignores it and walks into the office.  
"Hey Chase."  
Chase looks up. "Yeah Tony?"  
It's at this point that Tony notices that Chase is sweating madly and his body is shaking rapidly. "Are you alright, Chase?"  
"Yeah, I'm fine." Even while saying this, his body continues to jitter. "What's up?"  
"Jack just called. He said that Kim isn't going to be coming back to work so I was wondering if you could call her for me; see how she's doing. Please."  
"Sure. Let me just finish this and then I'll give her a call."  
"Okay, good. We're going to need all the help we can get today...or tonight. I'll be in my office if you need me."  
"Yeah." Chase watches as Tony walks out of Jack's office, still curious about what was up with Chase.  
  
06:35:14  
  
General Hadley continues to talk to President Palmer about the type of chemical agent involved.  
"Sir, final analysis won't come back for about an hour, but we are pretty sure that if this attack occurs, it will wipe out not only Los Angeles," the President rolls his eyes at the mention of this so-called, "hunch," "but also the entire western United States."  
On a screen, Palmer, along with Robbie, Alicia, and Bill watch as a circle expands over the western United States, extending from the Pacific Ocean west to Colorado, from southern Washington state south to Mexio. Alicia can't stand it anymore and closes her eyes.  
"There is one more thing, Mr. President. We have examined these weapons closely and found a stamp engraved on all of these weapons. This stamp is from an American company: Kopin Institutes."  
Palmer flies up from his chair. "You're telling me, Andrew, that Americans sold these chemical weapons to the Middle East?"  
"Yes, Mr. President. It appears this way."  
As Bill tries to calm down the President, it seems that Robbie is more interested in Alicia. He stares at her suspiciously. She doesn't notice his stare, and continues focusing on the screen showing the circle engulfing the entire western United States...  
  
06:37:09 06:37:10 06:37:11 06:37:12 06:37:13 06:37:14  
  
Jack continues driving toward CTU. His mind wasn't on the road, however; it was on other things. Like how his daughter had treated him since "that day."  
He takes a turn into a small, narrow alleyway; the one he always took on his way to work. It was much quicker than driving all the way around town. The light in the sky was continued to diminish, and Jack's car slipped through the alley unnoticed.  
A short, but loud noise is heard. Jack's car begins to skid. A second noise of the same sound is heard. Both of Jack's tires had been hit. His car continues skidding while Jack wonders what the hell was going on. He grabs his gun on the seat as the car skids into the wall of the abandoned alley. There is complete silence as Jack waits for what to do next. A third gunshot erupts right through the front windshield. It is at this time that Jack realizes that he is under attack. He quickly gets out of the car and ducks down on the side. More gunshots are heard as Bauer runs for cover from behind a dumpster.  
He ducks behind it. Seeing a ray of sunlight illuminating a man on top of one of the buildings, he fires and hits the man straight in his face. He falls from the building. His body splats all over the pavement below, yards away from Jack.  
More gunshots are fired. One hits Jack's car, and moments later, it explodes in a fiery eruption of flames. Jack covers his face with his hands to prevent the smoke from blinding his vision.  
Jack curses under his breath and moves to the side of the dumpster. He fires into the air because he can no longer see anything because of the smoke surrounding the entire alleyway. He hears another man fall to the ground. Jack then realizes he is out of ammo. The gunshots continue as he sprints toward the distant street. He ducks as the shots continue.  
A man comes flying out from behind a corner. Jack turns around and punches him in the face. The man punches Jack back and throws him into the wall. The gunshots continue.  
It was then as Jack laid on the ground that he got an idea. He jumped to his feet as the man leaped back onto Jack. Jack was able to grab him and hold him in a steady position. He holds the man in a crippling headlock. The gunshots continue to sound.  
Finally, Jack's plan succeeds when a shot is fired right through the man's stomach. Jack is quick enough to move out of the way before the bullet hits him. Jack, free from any more obstacles except the distant gunshots, runs quickly to the street and escapes the fatal trap. He looks for a car to steal, but, finding he has no gun, gives up. He instead begins running down the dimly lit streets of Los Angeles, toward CTU Headquarters.  
  
06:41:46  
  
Tony sits in his office on the phone with Simon.  
"Tony, Gael's just arrived. Should I tell him to come up?"  
"Yeah."  
Tony hangs up the phone as he hears the footsteps of Gael Ortega come up the stairs. He enters Tony's office.  
"Gael."  
"I heard about the current situation. I'll be getting my department up to date immediately."  
"Good. Gael, I'm going to be going out for a few minutes to wait for my wife. I trust you can take over for me for a couple of minutes."  
"Sure. How's Michelle?"  
Tony scratches his chin. "She's good."  
Gael and Tony exchange an awkward moment of silence. Gael speaks, "I'll get to work."  
"Okay." As Gael leaves his office, Tony again picks up the phone.  
  
Michelle is at the wheel of her car, driving through the streets of Los Angeles. Her cell phone rings.  
"Hello?"  
"Hey there. How far away are you?"  
"I should be at CTU in about twenty minutes."  
Tony chuckles to himself. "I can't wait."  
Michelle takes a deep breath. "Tony, there's something I've been wanting to tell you for the past few weeks."  
"What is it?"  
"You're gonna be a father. And I'm gonna be a mother."  
It takes a moment for Tony to understand what she was trying to say, but finally, he realizes that Michelle was pregnant.  
"Wow...I had no idea."  
"Are you happy?"  
"Yeah...yeah...of course. Listen, I'm being beeped by Division, I've gotta go."  
"I love you." Michelle begins to cry.  
"Love you, too." Tony hangs up the phone. It was then that it hit him. He was going to have a child; something he has always wanted. With the woman he loved so much, they were finally going to become parents. The joy was overwhelming for him, and at the same time, Michelle was having the same feelings.  
  
President Palmer sat alone in the now deserted conference room. The door opened and Jenny entered.  
"Jenny, is there something I can help you with?"  
"Actually, Mr. President. We have a problem."  
"What is it?" The President turned his head to face the relatively short member of his staff.  
"A press reporter named Adrian Moore. She demands to speak with you, or else she'll tell the public that chemical weapons will be delivered by terrorists to Los Angeles today."  
The President couldn't believe what he was hearing. "How did she find this out?"  
"I don't know, sir."  
The President thinks over the situation at hand, not knowing how to proceed. Finally, he gives an answer. "We can't afford a panic; but, at the same time, this administration cannot have another Ron Wieland. Leave her alone."  
"Yes, Mr. President."  
Jenny nods and walks out of the room. As she walks out, Robbie Lohse enters and sits himself down.  
"Mr. President. I need to speak with you about Alicia."  
Palmer smiles. "Robbie; on this day especially, you need to drop your personal dislike for-"  
"It's not personal dislike, Mr. President. I've learnt from a creditable source that Alicia used to work for this company, Kopin Institutes."  
"The company that supposedly gave these terrorists the chemical weaponry?"  
"Yes, Mr. President. And I've also learnt that she still may be in contact with this company."  
"This doesn't prove anything, Robbie. This company does many other things than produce chemical elements."  
"Yes, I know, Mr. President. But I am having a meeting with my source in the next hour. My source has told me that proof can be made available."  
Palmer remains silent. "Very well. Go through with your meeting. If you can get proof, we'll talk with Alicia. In the meantime, I'd like to speak with a member of this company to discuss what the hell is going on over there. We'll re-evaluate this in one hour."  
"Yes, Mr. President. Thank you."  
Robbie slowly gets up and begins walking toward the door. Palmer closes his eyes, now knowing that there was the possibility that a member of his own staff was working for the enemy...  
  
06:46:38  
  
Kimberly Bauer stepped out of her car. She looked around the parking lot of her apartment complex where she lived. Seeing that there was nobody around, she began walking toward the main building. She soon reached the overhang of the white building and saw that two people, both men, were shouting at one another in the far corner of the overhang. Kim, curiously, walked slowly over to them. They didn't notice her.  
"Hey, dude. Get the hell away from me."  
"Give me everything you've got."  
The offending man grabbed the other man and ripped off his watch.  
Kim continued to watch the scene. Her arm went into her pocket and she gripped something.  
The offending man now had the other man's wallet and pushing the other man into the wall, he began to run away.  
"Help! Somebody help That guy robbed me!"  
Kim pulled out a gun from her pocked and sprinted off toward the robber. Her speed was fast, her determination was high. The offending man now realized that he was being pursued.  
"Stop, or I'll fire," Kim yelled.  
The man showed no signs of letting up. He didn't see the gun.  
Kim got the gun ready in moments, and, firing a single shot, the bullet struck the man in the left leg. This paralyzed the man and he fell to the ground. Kim ran up to the spot of the fallen man and put her gun back into her pocket. Instead of pulling out a weapon, this time she pulled a cell phone out of her pocket. She dialed three numbers. "Yes, I have a man here who..."  
The man who was robbed slowly walks to the spot where the incident had occured. Amazed by the abilities of the young woman before him, he said simply, "Thanks."  
  
06:49:29 06:49:30 06:49:31 06:49:32 06:49:33 06:49:34  
  
The first person to see the arrival of the veteran CTU agent was Tony. He walked to where Jack Bauer was coming in, and went straight up to him. "Hey Jack." He immediately notices the condition Jack was in, and by the looks of his once brand new tuxedo, and his shortness of breath, Tony could only guess that something bad had occured.  
"Tony, I need you to send recovery teams three blocks from here at the intersection of Main and Immis."  
"What the hell happened?" Tony now realized that most of CTU was now looking at the scene between the two men.  
"As I was driving to CTU, I cut through this alleyway. I was soon attacked by many men. My car exploded and their goal was obviously to kill me. I need to find out who these men are."  
"I see...Listen, Jack, a warehouse was raided somewhere in the Middle East earlier today. They found a large share of chemical weapons, some of them were missing and it has been determined that they are on their way to Los Angeles as we speak. Our job is to find these weapons as soon as they land on U.S. soil." Tony stopped for a moment, letting Jack take in this incredible amount of information.  
For Jack, this was only another thing to add to his list of things to think about. "How do we know that these weapons are coming to Los Angeles?"  
"That's the thing: this whole L.A. thing is only a hunch. The U.S. military believes that this racial violence that's been esculating in Los Angeles recently is only a cover-up for what might happen to the west coast today. Final analysis of the chemical agent should be in soon, but right now, it looks like if this chemical is released airborne, the entire west coast would be wiped out within hours."  
This information shook Jack's insides. The thought of the entire western United States was enough to chill someone to the bone. He looked at all of the workers at CTU and then back to Tony, who waited for his reply.  
"This doesn't make sense. The United States government believes for a reason that there is a link between a KKK group and a terrorist group from the Middle East. These connections just don't exist."  
"Exactly, Jack. I think we're just going to have to wait on this one. "  
Jack thought for a moment before giving Tony his response. "Do me a favor; send Recovery down to the location I gave you. Tell them to ID all of these men individually and then get back to me in one hour."  
"One hour? That's not enough time!"  
"We need to find out who these men are, and what their connection is to all of this. Once we find this out, we can move on. Now, please Tony; just do it. I'm going to get changed."  
Tony watched as Jack moved into the very center of CTU, the staring continuing. Tony shook his head knowing that their lead into this whole thing was also a hunch, but it was a hunch that they just had to hope would prove to be relevant to the situation at hand.  
With this in his mind, he turned toward where Jack had just entered and walked out of the CTU Main Lobby, ready to see his now pregnant wife.  
  
President Palmer sat with Bill in the conference room, talking this time with Colonel Gallagher.  
"I agree," Gallagher was saying, "but we have to be certain that the public will react"  
He was interupted by the sudden entrance of Hadley. "Mr. President, the military just received this phone call from an open channel, a military channel."  
"What does it say?" Palmer asked.  
"Listen for yourself, Mr. President." He then flipped a switch and a static noise began.  
"...I am the only one who can prevent disaster from striking. I know the exact location where the chemical weapons will be delivered. The chemical agent in these weapons is a very deadly 54M-22 gas, a type of gas produced by Kopin Institutes. I am telling you the truth. If this agent is released into the air, millions of people will die in minutes. Your only choice is to listen to my demands. They are quite simple and are non- negotiable: allow the Press Reporter named Adrian Moore to be given full access to the President and his staff. You shall not tell her about this demand. She is to be treated like a member of the President's staff. And yes, I will know if you are bluffing or not. I will know if you tell her about this call. I shall know everything that happens to her. I am your only hope. Let Adrian Moore into your inner circle or face not only the deviating powers of the group known as Dark Wrath, but you will also receive an astonishing surprise from myself. The choice is yours..."  
The recording fades to static. There is a great degree of silence among Palmer, Bill, and inside the Military O.C.  
Hadley is the first to speak, "Mr. President; we now have a great deal of talking to do. I hear this reporter also knows about today's events. There's got to be a connection."  
But Palmer's mind is elsewhere. He stares off into space, unaffected by the words the General had just spoken...  
  
06:54:09  
  
Kimberly Bauer sits on the front of a car, talking with a police officer. The gun she had lies on the ground near Kim, and the man who had been robbed sits away from her across the parking lot where Kim lived. The offending man was now in handcuffs, sitting in the backseat of a police car, pain spreading throughout his entire leg. He couldn't understand how this babe could have stopped him from taking money from another man. It just didn't add up.  
The police officer, continuing to write notes down on his little pad, asked, "Miss, where did you learn to use a gun? The shot you fired shows that the bullet was driven from the gun with perfect precision."  
Kim sighs, "You see, I work for CTU, Counter Terrorist Unit, where my dad works, Jack Bauer." She stopped for a moment, thinking about her dad. "I decided to enroll in a class to learn how to become a...a...field agent."  
The officer raises an eyebrow. "A woman...as a government field agent?"  
Kim laughs, "Why is this country so sexist against women? Why can't we learn how to use guns?"  
"Miss Bauer, I'm not going to intrude on your business. Once again, thank you for helping us catch this guy. But take my advice; try not to get too involved in these kinds of situations anymore. They can get dangerous."  
Kim nodded in approval, but knew deep down that danger is what she wanted; what she was meant to do. Her father's gene had been passed down to her, and she was finally ready to accept that. She was ready to risk her life for her country; it was what she's been wanting to do ever since her mother had died, that day that seemed like an eternity ago.  
  
Jack looked in the mirror in his office. Chase was not around; he didn't know where he was, and frankly, he didn't really care what he was up to, as long as he was out of his way. As he looked at himself in his casual field-op uniform, he thought of Kim, and how she didn't want to see him. His thoughts were interupted by a knock at the door.  
"Shouldn't you be working?" It was Chloe O'Brien, his specialized assistant who sometimes got on his nerves.  
"What's up, Chloe?"  
"I just wanted to let you know something. Chase was working in your office before and"  
Jack laughs, "Chloe, if you want to try and get Chase in trouble, this isn't the way to do it."  
"That's not it. He wasn't looking too well, Jack. He was sweating like a mad person and his attitude was..." She struggles for the right word. "...abnormal."  
Jack moves closer to her. "What do you mean, abnormal?"  
"I don't know, just...he was just weird. Just letting you know."  
Finally...this was the opportunity Jack needed to talk to Chase informally, then discuss with him what he needed to talk about: Kim.  
"Alright, thanks Chloe."  
Jack led Chloe out of his office and shut the door quickly behind her.  
A car pulls into a strip mall parking lot. It takes the first available spot. The street lights pop on as they pull in; the sun is almost entirely gone now.  
Lori Ronan opened the door and stepped out of the car. "Alright, keep the doors locked and I'll be back in a few minutes. Do you want anything?"  
Jason Bulger answered after some time thinking, "Oh, no thanks."  
That said, she smiled and closed the door behind her.  
As she walked away, Jason hit the lock button almost immediately.  
  
06:57:33  
  
Tony Almeida stood still outside CTU. Michelle would be arriving soon, and he couldn't wait a second more to see her. Their short separation was stupid; he just couldn't understand how he could let Michelle, the gorgeous woman he married, leave his sight. This was the single thing on his mind. He didn't even think about what her response would be to the threat of the potential chemical attack.  
As he leaned back against his car, he listened to the chirping of the birds as they too watched the sun shine its last rays upon this day. The parking lot was deserted except for him.  
He turned his head toward the street to see the light traffic passing by. It wouldn't be long now...  
A sudden noise makes Tony turn his head in all directions looking for the cause of it. Suddenly, a hand comes down and delivers a hard blow to his head. With his sleeves rolled up, Chase Edmunds punches Tony in the face. The blood begins to ooze. Tony is not able to respond. He tries to deliver a punch, but he is caught off guard when he sees Chase is the one attacking him. Without much of a fight, Chase is able to render Tony unconscious with just a few punches. His limp body falls to the ground.  
Chase looks around the parking lot to make sure that nobody is around. He then opens the nearby trunk of a truck, and grabs Tony's feet, dragging his damaged body across the pavement.  
  
Jason Bulger rests his head. The day had been a tiring one, and he actually was now quite bored. He looked through the coin tray, finding nothing but a couple of quarters and a few dimes and nickels.  
He puts his feet up on the dashboard and relaxes. Hearing a noise outside, he quickly bangs them back to the car floor, hitting the back of them against the lower end of the passenger seat. He finds there a small drawer underneath the seat. Pulling on the hatch, the drawer pops open and he sticks his hand curiously into the drawer. What he pulls out makes his jaw drop.  
In his hand, he examines a small handgun, cocked and ready to be put to use...  
  
Jason had never seen a gun before in his life, and he couldn't imagine why in the hell his aunt, the person he thought he knew so well, had one concealed inside her car. Having never used one before in his life, he was compelled to use it.  
  
Kim Bauer sat alone and in the dark in her apartment. She was an adult now; she didn't need her father always looking out for her. She felt a strange sense of individualism, one she had never felt before.  
  
Jack Bauer typed on his computer. He worked at a slow pace, all because he couldn't get his mind off of his unhappy daughter. He knew so well that she had never forgiven him for Teri dying, and now she was mad at him for mistreating her boyfriend. The noise of typing continued.  
  
Michelle looked around the CTU parking lot for her husband, but he was nowhere to be found. She wondered if he was inside, and decided that this was where he must be, waiting to surprise her.  
  
The body of Tony Almeida laid steady in the back seat of the truck. The passing of the street lights put a constant glare on his face, the same face now covered with blood and scars.  
  
In the Military Complex, the attention of the room was still focused on the screen projecting the circle engulfing the entire western part of the United States, as it continued to grow, then shrink once more, then grow outwards again.  
  
President Palmer sat with Bill in the conference room. Bill was trying to discuss the situation at hand, but Palmer had other things on his mind, mostly the thought of another threat at his already weakened administration. Alicia stood outside the room, watching every move the President made.  
  
Nicole Palmer patted Maurice on the back, trying to cheer him up. She had never seen so much racial hatred from anyone, and that was saying a lot, considering what her father had to go through to become the leader of the free world, the same world that was being so cruel to her. What Rob might do next to her shook her to the bone, and she could no longer hold back the tears. In her mind, she thought of good times, when her brother, her mother, and her father lived together in peace, but those times had long past.  
  
Adrian Moore sat inside the press room, still trying to find a way to get to Palmer. It wouldn't be easy, but hey, whoever said that stardom came for free.  
  
Jason took a deep breath, not believing what he was holding was actually there. The thought that the object he now possessed could kill someone was enough to make him whip out his cell phone. It was time to call his mother.  
A sudden loud knock on the window made Jason jump. Lori continued knocking, wanting Jason to unlock the door.  
He slowly put down the phone, now realizing that he was in danger. With reluctance, he put his hand on the switch and pressed, 'UNLOCK.'  
As his aunt opened the driver's side door, he gripped onto the gun tighter than ever, now behind his back, hidden from view, at least for now...  
  
06:59:57 06:59:58 06:59:59 07:00:00 


	2. 7:00 PM 8:00 PM

24  
  
THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE  
BETWEEN 7:00 P.M. AND 8:00 P.M.  
  
COUNTER TERRORIST UNIT  
  
Through the main doors at CTU, she entered. Walking gracefully toward the center of the main floor, she continued looking for her husband, but still, no luck. It was at this moment that Gael saw her, and came over to see her.  
"Michelle; welcome back." Gael shakes her trembling hand with a smile.  
"Gael, nice to see you. Have you seen Tony around? I thought he would be waiting for me outside."  
Gael seemed troubled by this news. "You mean you didn't see him outside?"  
"No...why?"  
Gael was reluctant to give Michelle the news, but felt that he had the obligation to tell her. "Michelle, Tony put me in charge of CTU for a while; he said he would be outside, waiting for you."  
"What?" Now Michelle seems to panic. "Well, where is he?"  
"I don't kno-"  
Michelle breaks down, "Listen up, everybody. My husband is missing and I want him found. I want a complete sweep of the building, both inside and outside." The entire place now stares at the scene, Michelle and Gael standing there in the center. From up top, Chloe and Simon stop their work to look down upon the scene, while Jack steps out of his office. "There is to be no communciation with anyone until he is found. Let's go!"  
  
Jack shakes his head from above and quickly runs down the stairs, toward Michelle. "Michelle, what's going on? You can't just pull all of our resources at once! The country is about to be attacked!"  
"Attacked? What do you mean? What's going on?" Gael and Jack exchange looks of confusion. Michelle stares at them, knowing something is wrong.  
"Michelle," it's Jack who speaks. "Chemical weaponry is going to be delivered somewhere in the United States today, and we believe the weapons will be landing in Los Angeles in the next few hours. If this chemical were to be released into the air, it will turn out to be a global disaster."  
The entire CTU is now looking over at the scene of three people, waiting for a command.  
Michelle is now silent.  
Jack takes over. "Listen up, everyone. As you just heard, Tony Almeida is missing. The one thing we need to worry about now is not getting Division involved. If they hear about this, they'll have us lockdown in minutes and we can't let that happen; not today. Therefore, all outgoing communications are banned until further notice, on my orders. If you have any problems, come talk to me. Thank you."  
Jack re-focuses his attention to Michelle. "Don't worry, we'll find him."  
Michelle begins to cry in fear of what has just happened.  
Jack pulls Gael aside. "Gael, I want you to supervise the security team; check all security cameras both inside and outside the building, starting with ten minutes ago. If you find anything, call me."  
Gael nods, then runs off. Jack walks toward Simon, who seems to be waiting for him. "What's up, Jack?"  
"This isn't the time. Simon, I want you to call my daughter, tell her we need her to come in now."  
"But Jack, she won't"  
Jack cuts him off, "Just do it!"  
Jack walks away from his desk and walks to the stairs. Quickly, he runs up them, the echo of his shoes clattering on the steps. As he enters his office, Chloe approaches. "Jack, have you seen Chase lately?"  
Jack looks at Chloe, then looks around CTU. "No...no I haven't, why? Do you know where he is?"  
"No, he left about ten minutes ago, said he was going outside for a second, he never came back in."  
Jack keeps a still face for a moment before erupting, "Son of a b!tch!"  
Jack runs into his office; Chloe follows. "Jack, what's wrong?"  
"We now have two people on our missing list, what the hell is going on here?"  
"I don't know, Jack."  
Jack picks up the phone and dials.  
"Hello?" The sound of a deep male voice, that of Simon's.  
"Simon, it's Jack. Did you call Kim yet?"  
"No, I was just about to, why?"  
"Because Chase Edmunds is missing, too."  
The news comes to a surprise to him, "Jack, what's happening here?"  
"I don't know."  
Really, no one knew.  
  
The car zoomed down the highway, going at a speed of 70 m.p.h.  
Inside, Jason sat shaking, the gun still hidden behind his back. It was then that he realized that he was going to have to find a way to tell his parents that his aunt, his relative, possessed a gun for an unknown reason.  
Lori looked over to him and smiled. He tried to smile back, but failed miserably.  
"We'll be at your house in no time..." Lori said.  
No time, Jason thought. He hoped she really meant it.  
  
7:03:48  
  
Kim Bauer sat on her couch, alone. She sat quietly. The sound of the ringing of the phone startled her. She picked it up.  
"Hello?"  
"Kim...it's Simon calling from CTU. Look, before you hang up, I need to tell you:" he struggled for a moment to say it; finally, "Both Tony Almeida and Chase Edmunds are missing." Again he stops for a reaction. He finds none. "Your father wanted me to call you. Kim, we really need you here at CTU. We're in the middle of a crisis, please; come."  
Kim dropped the phone onto the floor, still showing no sign of expression or emotion, only trying to comprehend the words she had just heard.  
"Hello? Kim? Kim? Hello?"  
  
The entire hallway surrounded by Secret Service, President Palmer alongside Jenny Dodge walked together toward the doors that would take them to the dark outside.  
"We have no other choice, Jenny. This is our only lead into this case."  
Bill comes alongside the two of them as they stop by the revolving doors.  
Palmer speaks again, "Jenny; Bill will come with you for Ms. Moore. Remember what we talked about: make sure you watch her closely."  
"We will, sir." Bill said.  
"Good. I'll see you in a couple of minutes."  
Secret Service now escorted Palmer through the doors and outside, where a limousine was waiting. He entered, and found Alicia already inside waiting for him. Unwanting to reveal any information to her, he remained quiet.  
The door to the limo closed, with Alicia remaining silent.  
And this was all the President could ask for, at least until Robbie met with his source.  
  
Jack Bauer sat alone in his office, trying to put a meaning to what had happened in the past hour. While struggling to swallow, he grabbed a water bottle sitting on his desk and brought it to his dry, quivering lips. He gulped down about a quarter of the bottle in seconds. The phone rang in its normal CTU style. After waiting for it to ring a second time, Jack picked it up and answered, "Bauer."  
"Jack." A voice he recognized easily. It was that of President Palmer's.  
"Mr. President. How can I help you?"  
"Jack, I need your help. We were just informed of a possible lead into the case. I can't say anymore over the phone, but I would greatly appreciate if you would meet me at my location."  
"What's this about, sir?"  
"We received a call from a man claiming to have information on the possible chemical attack. He had very odd demands if I may say so. But you see, I'd like you to head a top-secret field op team for me, Jack. Because as you can already tell, it's going to be a long day."  
Jack moved around in his seat, grasping for what to say or do. "Mr. President..." He thought about deserting his job, his friends. How could he leave Tony alone? Chase alone? They were in trouble, and yet, Jack was leaving them. "I'd be honored."  
  
7:06:39  
  
The car slowing as it pulled into the driveway, Jason became anxious about his parents. He looked over to his aunt as she put the car into park and turned off the ignition. The driveway and street in front of the house was filled with cars. Jason stared at his house, it was actually more like a mansion. Glass windows stretched across the front of the gigantic structure, and gardens filled the empty space in front of the house.  
Jason slowly exited the car, and as he did, he slowly slipped the gun back into the drawer under the seat, as Lori got out to stretch her legs. Successfully reconcealing the weapon, he smiled at his aunt, the one he thought he knew so well, and together, they began to walk toward the front door.  
The sound of Lori's heels clattering, the sound of evening birds chirping, and the sound of the light music inside of the house were all heard as Lori led Jason into his own living quarters. As they entered, Jason's mother saw them first from down the dark hallway.  
"Jason!" she exclaimed as she came running over to him, kissing him on the head several times. Jason was ready to vomit.  
His mother turned her attention to Lori, and they gave a very sisterly kiss.  
As the chatter began, Jason was happy to be home, but at the same time, nervous for what might happen next.  
  
Stirring, Tony Almeida began to regain consciousness. He blinked several times before realizing that he was still in the trunk of the car. But he couldn't remember what had happened. The sound of a male voice brought him back to reality.  
Chase Edmunds was on the phone, "Yeah, he'll be there soon. Everything's going according to plan..."  
Tony remained silent as he waited for him to speak again.  
"Yes, I understand, sir."  
Tony didn't want to move, nor could he because his hands were tied behind his back. He didn't want to speak with that traitor, nor look at him.  
The only thing he could think about was Michelle, alone; all he wanted was Michelle, because he loved her.  
A tear formed in his left eye.  
A single tear, and not one more.  
  
Michelle couldn't take it anymore. At her desk in CTU, the tears were too much. What good would sitting around here do when her husband was missing?  
"Michelle."  
It was the voice of Jack.  
"Michelle, I'm leaving for a couple of hours to help in an investigation for the President. I'll be back later."  
Without saying anymore, he started walking toward the main doorway, briefcase in hand.  
This came as a shock to Michelle. Jack was leaving her, leaving Tony. He didn't care what happened; he had more important things to do. The thought continued flowing in her head until she made up her mind: she opened the drawer of her desk and pulled out a gun, stuffing it into her handbag. Getting up from her chair, she passed Gael.  
"You're in charge."  
Saying no more, she following in Jack's footsteps out the doors of CTU. She was going to find her husband, she didn't know how, but she did know that she was going to try. Somehow, someway, she would. For right now, though, all she wanted to do was leave CTU, the place that had always caused her so much grief.  
  
7:09:53  
7:09:54  
7:09:55  
====================  
7:14:08  
7:14:09  
7:14:10  
  
The anger in veins continued to grow. Tony was so angry that his face was red with rage and his fists crunched down together. In the front of the car, Chase slowed to a stop and put the car into park. Tony didn't know what was about to happen, and quite frankly, he didn't want to know. Chase unlocked the door and got out of the car. Wearing a brown jacket with a blue dress shirt underneath and casual blue jeans, he looked anything but a CTU agent. Walking to the back of the car in what appeared to be no rush, he reached the door to the trunk. With one hand, he turned the latch to the Ford Expedition and the door slowly opened.  
There was a moment of silence in which Chase and Tony exchanged looks, then Tony interrupted the deadly silence. "What the hell are you doing, Chase?"  
And then came the answers, one which Tony never expected to hear. "Please, Tony. Don't make this any harder than it has to be."  
Tony felt a touch of sympathy in his voice, but looked up to his face. It was as normal as ever, and yet, something about it seemed strange.  
  
Tony laid sideways on the floor of the trunk and back seat of the truck. With his hands bound behind his back, there was little he could do to try and escape, and he felt dizzy because of being beaten by Chase. He also felt embarassed and sick to his stomach all because he was beaten up by a man younger, less mature, and less stronger than he.  
Chase remained still in front of him, staring at Tony with a fixed gaze. Finally, it ended when he reached to the side of the trunk and pulled out a roll of duct tape.  
Tony could only guess what would go down next.  
  
Gael was working at his desk when Chloe came running over.  
"Gael, Division just called. They're looking for Tony. What should I tell them?"  
Gael, now the ranking agent on site, had to come to a decision. "Tell them he's not availabe right now."  
"But Gael, shouldn't we let them know what's going on?" Chloe was a kind of stick to the rule book person.  
"No, Chloe, because if they find out, they'll be in our face for the entirety of this crisis."  
"But Gael, we're going to have to tell them eventually."  
It was at this point that he lost his patience. "Just follow the chain of command Chloe. If Chappelle comes over here, the crisis will only intensify. So tell them he's not available."  
Chloe looked at Gael suspiciously, then walked away.  
Gael began working again when the phone rang. He picked it up quickly.  
"Ortega."  
"Gael, it's Don. We have something we think you need to see."  
"Alright...I'll be right down."  
Gael slammed down the phone and threw his pen to the back of the desk.  
  
A large set of metal doors opened slowly and Robbie Lohse walked through into the halls of the Military Operations Center. He nodded to other officers passing by, and continued walking down the hall. The walls were painted a yellowish kind of color, with American symbols and such every now and then.  
Soon, Robbie reached a second metal doorway. As he approached, it opened automatically. Inside, a lone lightbulb lit up the small room and already seated waiting for him was a military officer.  
General Andrew Hadley sat straight up in his seat, professionally awaiting the arrival of the director of NSA.  
"Robbie, please, be seated. We have much to discuss."  
  
7:17:12  
  
Gael turned the doorknob and opened the CTU Security Room door. He walked through and saw Don already waiting for him, seated in a swivel chair in front of many screens. One particular one was paused on a frame, while the rest were live feeds.  
"Don, you said you found something?"  
"Yeah, take a look at this."  
Pressing a few keys, the main screen started moving. It was the security camera from outside, and it now showed Tony standing around waiting for Michelle. Gael watched with his arms folded, watching the screen carefully. Moments later, they watched in horror as a man came up to Tony and literally punched his guts out.  
Gael, now fascinated with what was going on, watched the mysterious man drag Tony's body toward a truck.  
"When was this taken?"  
"About twenty minutes ago," Don replied. "In the CTU Parking Lot."  
Gael still had another thing on his mind, "Who's the man attacking him?"  
With a short tap on the keyboard, the image zoomed in to the face of the man now dragging Tony's body: Chase Edmunds.  
Gael couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Oh my god..."  
There was an eerie type of silence for a few seconds before Don spoke again, "Gael, we have to let Division know about what has just happened. I suggest that you call them."  
"No," Gael interrupted. "It's like Jack said, if we let them know, they'll be on us for the rest of the day."  
It was obvious that Don didn't agree with him, but it was Gael that had the final say. After all, he was the ranking agent on site.  
  
Michelle drove down the darkened streets of Los Angeles, desperate for any clues she might find. Having no luck thinking of any way to accomplish her task, she dug her cell phone out of her purse. Dialing some numbers, she put the phone to her ear.  
"CTU, Richter."  
"Simon, it's Michelle."  
"Michelle, where are you?"  
Michelle turned the steering wheel and the car headed left. "I'm out in the field trying to help my husband. Listen, Simon, are there any leads coming in right now that have to do with the terrorist threat. Anything at all?" Michelle stopped, hoping for a good response.  
Simon turned his head to see Gael walking towards him from across the floor. "Yeah, Jack said he was attacked by these men trying to kill him. You could go down there."  
It seemed that Michelle had no choice, "Fine, what's the address?"  
Simon had to look at his computer screen for this information. "The intersection of Main and Immis."  
"Alright, thanks Simon."  
Gael now approached Simon's work station. "Give me the phone."  
He breathed heavily, but finally put the phone to his ear. "Michelle, it's Gael. I'm afraid I have some disturbing news."  
Michelle didn't want to hear this. She had had enough bad news for one day. "What?"  
"It's just been confirmed; Chase Edmunds kidnapped your husband."  
The words raced through her ears. What she had just heard; it didn't make sense, and yet, Gael sounded serious.  
Gael recognized the sense of silence and spoke up. "Michelle..." He tried to think of something comforting to say, but failed. He wasn't Tony, the guy who had always helped Michelle through all those hard times. But now, she was alone, away from the man she loved.  
Gael lowered the phone as the other end went dead.  
  
7:19:50  
  
Kim Bauer walked through the doors of CTU and into the main floor. Gael, busy looking over Simon's shoulder, didn't notice her entrance, nor did anyone else. She stopped for a moment to take a quick look around, finding agents she hadn't seen in quite a long while.  
Regaining her composure, she started walking again up to where Gael stood.  
"Gael."  
Gael turned around and saw the short blond woman standing there before him. "Kim...glad you could make it." He tried not to give away any signs of what had just happened.  
"Where's Chase? I heard he was missing."  
Gael turned to Simon, sitting next to him. He turned back, "Who told you this?"  
Kim leaned over to face Simon. She nodded his way and smiled.  
Gael realized he was beaten. "Kim..." How could he say this? "Kim, Chase is missing because he kidnapped Tony Almeida."  
Kim was astonished.  
More bad news, and yet more unbelieved faces.  
  
"Explain to me Andrew. How did you find out about Alicia's involvement with Kopin Institutes?"  
The voice of Robbie Lohse was prevalent throughout the small room.  
"Robbie..." he began. "Before I became a general for the United States Army, I worked for a small security company. One day, there was a threat of a chemical leak in one of the Institutes factories. I was called in to make sure that the place was properly locked down. I entered the building and found inside a woman who was hiding inside one of the equipment rooms. When I found her there, she was..." he pauses for a moment. "She was literally collecting many crates of some sort. Actually, inside of them, were chemicals. I asked her what she was doing in there, she responded by saying she was examining each one of the crates for a..." Robbie looks up to him at this moment. "leak."  
"Now if you get my drift, Robbie, this woman wasn't checking for leaks...She was trying to steal the chemicals from onsite."  
General Hadley stopped speaking for a moment to clear his throat. "Mr. Lohse, I asked for her ID and she gave it to me. Her name was Alicia Donaldson and she was a chemist technician for this company."  
Inside, Robbie knew he had succeeded in bringing down Alicia. All he had to do now was alert the President and she would be gone.  
  
Chase, now standing outside the car, had his cell phone to his ear. It rang several times before it was picked up at the other end.  
"I'm going inside now."  
The voice on the other end responded, "Very good. Remember, Chase, this operation now rests on your shoulders. Good luck."  
"Thank you, Mr. President."  
On the other end of the phone, David Palmer closed his cell phone, put it back into his pocket, and walked down a hallway to meet up with Secret Service.  
  
7:22:45  
7:22:46  
7:22:47  
====================  
7:26:31  
7:26:32  
7:26:33  
  
"Mr. Bauer."  
Secret Service called out his name; Jack wasn't paying attention.  
"Mr. Bauer."  
  
Agent Aaron Pierce spoke another, finally snapping Jack out of his short-lived daydream.  
"Yeah?"  
"You're free to go." He then speaks something into his walkie-talkie. "Please open the doors for Agent Jack Bauer."  
The voice on the other end obviously heard him, and before long, a large set of metal doors began opening, revealing a hallway leading downwards from the outside.  
With a final nod to Secret Service, he took off down the rather dark corridor to meet the President.  
  
"Miss Moore."  
Adrian Moore turned around only to see Secret Service, and two other people standing around her.  
"Miss Moore, I'm Jenny Dodge, this is Bill Lawton."  
Adrian looked at the party of people standing before her. "What do you want?"  
Bill spoke this time. "We've decided to let you come see the President."  
Adrian wasn't expecting this, and her face showed it. "President Palmer, would like to see me?"  
Jenny looked up to Bill and then spoke. "Yes, the President would like to meet with you. Now."  
Adrian smiled. "What caused the sudden change of mind?"  
Once again, they were reluctant to respond. "Miss Moore, if you would like to speak with the President, please, just follow me."  
Sensing another press trap, Adrian was about to call for help. But then, that want for fame kicked in, and it wasn't long before Adrian answered. "Let's go."  
Jenny nodded to Secret Service and together, they walked out of the press room.  
  
7:28:00  
  
Nicole Palmer sat against the wall, bored, and at the same time, fearing for her life. Maurice sat on the other side of the room, feeling the same way.  
Suddenly, talking began to arise outside of the dark room. For the first time in an hour, a level of noise could be heard clearly through the locked door.  
Nicole looked over at Maurice, and he looked back at her. Outside, they heard a deep male voice, one they hadn't heard before, speak:  
"So where are they, those black sons-of-b!tches."  
Soon after, they heard another voice speak, obvioulsy Rob's. "They're here. You've got the agent?"  
The unfamiliar voice spoke once again. "Yeah, he's in my car."  
A clicking sound meant the opening of the door to where Nicole and Maurice were sitting. The knob turned and Rob walked through, behind him was another man, one they had never seen before.  
Chase Edmunds walked into the room and looked at the poor teenagers sitting alone in the scanky, dim-lit room. Even the smell was atrocious.  
"Let's see Almeida, Edmunds," Rob beckoned.  
Chase looked at Nicole and stared into he eyes. Nicole stared back, but there was something different about this man that she couldn't quite grasp. He seemed different than the other white men, and at the same time, there was a strange feeling present in his eyes.  
"Edmunds. Let's see Almeida."  
Chase cut back his gaze. "Yeah...sure."  
Rob led the way out of the disgusting room, with Chase bringing up the rear. With a quick glance back toward Nicole, he closed the door behind him.  
Placing a key inside the lock, he turned it so a small clicking sound was heard.  
A lightbulb sprang up in Nicole's mind at the sound of the click. What she had seen in the new man's eyes was real and true.  
It was a feeling of hope.  
  
MILITARY OPERATIONS COMPLEX LOS ANGELES 7:29:08  
  
Walking rather professionally, Jack Bauer continued down the crowded halls of the large, underground complex that was unknown to the citizens of the city. Only few knew about this underground masterpiece, mostly for security reasons.  
  
Inside one of the conference rooms, President David Palmer sat in silence waiting for the man he would trust with his life. On such a day as this, a day that was supposed to be joyous in the wake of his very own birthday, things could not be going worse.  
A knock on the door signaled that the person he was waiting for had finally arrived.  
"Come in, Jack," the President said loudly so that Jack could hear him from outside the room.  
With a turn of the knob, the door opened revealing Jack Bauer's emerging figure. "Mr. President. It's good to see you again, sir."  
President Palmer rose and greeted his visitor with a handshake and a smile. "Jack, I'm glad you're here. Please, have a seat."  
"Thank you, sir." It took Jack almost no time at all to pull out an empty chair and sit himself down in it. There was then an awkward moment of silence before the President broke it with his deep voice.  
"Jack, the reason I have called you here tonight is to help me. You see, about 45 minutes ago, we received an anoymous phone call from a man who claimed to have information regarding the possible terrorist attack. But his demands for his information were very odd."  
"What were they, sir?" Jack asked curiously.  
"He asked for me to accept a member of the press into my inner circle; a woman by the name of Adrian Moore."  
Deep within himself, Jack could not understand this demand. It didn't make sense to him, nor to anyone else.  
"And did you agree to this demand?" Jack asked.  
"...yes," was the answer the President gave. "Jack...this is the reason you are here. I have selected three others to go along with you on the mission I am about to ask you to lead." He paused for a moment to give Jack the time to comprehend. "We were able to determine roughly the area from where the phone call was made from. It is an apartment complex in the center of Los Angeles on the intersection of Third and Davenport. You are to lead the small team to this building and find the man who made this call. Our sources show that this is a largely empty building; in other words, very worn out."  
"But Mr. President...how will we be sure which man made the call?"  
President Palmer took a deep breath and thought about the question. He had to answer it truthfully.  
"We won't know. One mistake may have to be made to save others."  
The next question was obvious from Jack, "How far are we allowed to go in interrogation."  
This question Palmer was already prepared to answer.  
"As far as it takes."  
Jack argued back, "Mr. President, what if--"  
"As far as it takes."  
The conversation had now officially ended.  
  
7:31:35  
  
Out on the dark streets of Los Angeles, Chase Edmunds led Rob and two other men toward a truck in the distance. They all walked silently, and the dead of night provided no relief to the grim picture. A single bird flew overhead, crowed one time, and continued flying toward the north.  
As the four men finally reached the truck, Chase pulled out of his pocket a pair of keys and hit one of the buttons. Chase stopped in his tracks as the two men beside Rob moved past Chase until he put up his hands.  
"Wait."  
Rob smiled and moved closer to Chase. "What's wrong, Edmunds?"  
"You still haven't told me why you need Almeida."  
There was a moment of silence before Rob spoke up, "Don't worry...you'll find out soon."  
Chase still stood straight and firm, and finally, let his hands fall to the ground.  
Rob smiled to the two men next to Chase. He motioned them to open up the trunk of the car. Passing Chase, they walked to the rear of the vehicle before popping open the door of the trunk. Chase turned around, as Rob watched in the background, as the two men pulled out the limp and bloody body of Tony Almeida. He was still alive, that could be seen, but his body remained covered in scars easily seen through the poorly lit street. He had been gagged and blindfolded, and was being held standing by the two men.  
Rob smiled in pleasure of the pathetic sight. "Get him inside."  
With only a slight moan coming from Tony, he was led easily away and back away from the car. Rob followed the trio, lastly followed by Chase.  
As the face of Chase Edmunds became visible, it was clear that Chase was disgusted with what was happening.  
Before beginning to walk away following the others, he proceeded to say three words that proved something:  
"God help me."  
  
"Agent Dessler."  
Michelle turned around to face a tall, rather skinny blond haired male wearing a CTU Forensics jacket.  
"Yeah?"  
"We've identified the men and here are their bios." He handed Michelle a pocket folder and she opened it.  
"What the hell?"  
She showed him the inside of the folder, showing only the pictures of the various men, and very few words. "Where the hell are all their files?"  
"That's the thing. Their files...they all don't exist."  
"What? That's absurd. How could they not appear?"  
"Somebody deleted them."  
The answer came like that. A crash to the head. "Oh my god."  
She began looking around the alleyway where Jack had been ambushed one hour ago. CTU inhabited the area. Michelle began to gaze off from reality until the agent brought her back to reality.  
"Mrs. Dessler. Do you know who could have erased these bios?"  
Michelle immediately knew the answer, but something deep down inside told her there was more to this case than meets the eye...  
  
Gael walked down the deserted hallway of CTU and into the main floor. People were all gathered the main staircase waiting for Gael, and a path was already made to let him get through.  
Visible in the crowd were Kim, Simon, Chloe, as well as numerous others. Gael reached the stairs and immediately began:  
"Thank you all for assembling so fast. We've just learnt from NSA that we now have a lead on today's possible terrorist attacks. The chemical weaponry that is set to arrive somewhere around Los Angeles tonight has been manufactured at a warehouse in central L.A.: Kopin Institutes. We've been put in charge of raiding the factory to seize any leads that may be waiting inside. I'll be leading the team there, since..." He stopped there because he already knew that everyone else was well aware of what had happened in the last 90 minutes. "We'll be leaving immediately. You are now all to report directly to Chloe O'Brien. A reminder: we are still staying away from Division; if anyone gets a call from anyone there, tell them anything: just whatever you do, don't mention anything about Tony Almeida. And that's an order. Let's go."  
Gael jumped down from the stairs as the crowd began walking away.  
Chloe watched as Gael walked out of the main floor and out of CTU.  
Turning her head around away from the entrance and exit, her attention became focused upon the phone that sat upon a desk right in front of where Chloe O'Brien stood.  
  
Michelle Dessler was preparing to leave the alleyway as she began walking to her parked car in the distance. Before she could do so, she heard the faint, distant noise of something dropping to the ground. She looked up to the top of the buildings above where she thought she saw the faint outline of a person watching the entire scene progress from high above.  
She pulled out the handgun from her purse and made sure it was loaded.  
  
7:35:46  
7:35:47  
7:35:48  
====================  
7:40:01  
7:40:02  
7:40:03  
  
Jason Bulger moved through his house toward the door that led outside to where all of his parents friends had been. As he reached the door, he began to debate again how he would tell his parents about the gun he had found in his aunt's car. He still couldn't believe it was happening; his family was about to be torn apart, this he knew.  
Finally, he pulled open the glass door and stepped outside into the quite noisy backyard of his. Complete with a large patio that stretched the yard from both sides, it had an in-ground pool where kids were playing their childish games. He looked over to the main area of the patio where all the adults sat, chatting and talking up a storm.  
The night held a strange aroma to it, one Jason had never smelt before. The stars above shone brighter than he could ever imagine in his life, and the sound of coyotes echoed in the distance.  
Stepping closer to where his parents sat, Jason was about to call them aside when he saw her:  
Samantha Thompson had her feet in the pool, wearing an attractive bikini. Sam by her friends, she was one of those girls who had everything she needed in life: friends, a good family, and money. Lots of money.  
Jason stared at her with a glint in his eyes that yearned for her. She soon caught sight of his staring, and rose to stand. She began walking over to him, smiling the entire time. The blond-haired, rather tall and slim young woman was coming to see him.  
"Hi Jay," she said simply.  
Jason tried to say something back, preferably something more mature, but all that came out was, "Hey Sam."  
Without reluctance, she grabbed his hand and smiled. "I'm glad you're finally back."  
Jason still couldn't find anything to say, and whatever was just on his mind, he had forgotten.  
  
Jack and Palmer were now joined by three other men. All three had the look of a tough agent type, but Jack had already found out that they had all been close friends of Palmer for a while.  
"There's a helicopter waiting for you. It will be departing immediately for your location. Good luck, gentlemen."  
They all responded with a, "yes sir."  
As the three men led the way out of the room, President Palmer motioned to Jack to stay behind. "Jack...a quick word, please."  
As the door closed on them, Jack stepped back into the room, "What is it, sir."  
"You're to keep this assignment and its details in closed contact, meaning I don't want CTU to know what is going on. You are to keep out of contact with them."  
Jack could not believe what he was hearing, "But sir, CTU has the necessary equipment and personnel to help this mission, so why not--"  
"We've learnt that there may be a mole inside the government."  
Jack looked up at the taller man, and was shocked by this information. "What?"  
"The phone call we received; they warned that they would know if we disobeyed." Palmer put his head down.  
There was nothing for Jack to say, and instead of saying something regrettable, he quietly turned to face the door, and turned the knob to reveal the busy hallway outside.  
  
7:42:47  
  
Palmer watched as Jack closed the door and place the fate of Los Angeles in his hands. Soon after he had left, there came another knock on the door as Robbie entered.  
"Robbie, how did your meeting go with your source?"  
"Mr. President, I can now confirm for you that Alicia cannot be trusted."  
The President remained silent for a moment, and walked around the room for a moment before responding to the statement. "Tell her to come to my office immediately."  
"I will sir...if anyone can find her."  
Palmer turned his head to face the elderly director of NSA and said, "What do you mean? Are you telling me that she has just disappeared?"  
"Yes, sir. She's gone."  
Palmer slammed his body into a seat and pounded his already beaten fists into the table. "Damnit!"  
Robbie understood his frustration and seated himself down opposite the President. "Don't worry, sir...we're doing our best to find her."  
Palmer looked back at the man, then gazed past him, again staring off into space.  
  
The noise was greater than ever from outside the room, and Nicole Palmer and Maurice sat huddled close by each other in the dark room. They heard the sounds of someone being beaten brutally, and Nicole finally broke down again, not being able to withstand anything any longer.  
"Nicole, what's wrong?" Maurice said solemnly to her.  
"Oh, Maurice. We're so doomed."  
Maurice felt this in his mind, but didn't let it show. "No...no, baby. We just gotta be strong and we'll get through this."  
Nicole stopped crying and stared him in the eyes. "Do you really think that, Maurice? How can you think that when we've seen all the hatred in this country!? You've seen how our lives have disintegrated, and now we're about to die." She began crying again, and this time, nothing Maurice said would comfort her. "Just because we're black. Just because we have a different color of skin than the majority of people in this country. This country is supposed to be the land of opportunity, but the only opportunity this country offers is the opportunity to hate. History hasn't changed; it just hasn't. People think that racism is all gone, but it isn't. It's still around, more prevalent than ever. And to think of it...that my father, the President of the United States of America, has no control over any of this. He just sits in his office the entire day, signing laws into effect and attending important meetings about terrorism. But what the government doesn't realize is that besides terrorism and politics and all that other stuff in the news, there's our pathetic lives that no one takes into consideration. And it just makes me so mad to think that my father can't do anything about any of this. Sometimes, I hate him so much. I hate this country. I hate everything!"  
Her head sank into Maurice's arms and the tears were more dominant than ever. The feeling of hatred, of anger, was spreading throughout her body.  
They both looked up as the door suddenly opened and a man was thrown in, scars, blood, and bruises covering his skin.  
Nicole and Maurice sat completely still in horror of the man who was now unconscious in front of them.  
Tony Almeida's bloody body laid motionless in front of the two, blood pouring out onto the wet cement below.  
7:45:31  
  
Everyone's attention on the main floor of CTU was focused on the main doors, where Ryan Chappelle, with other Division keys, walking in all huddled together. Chloe waited in the center of the large room, head down, her shoulders slumping over with a look of sorrow upon her face.  
"Chloe." Ryan Chappelle outstretched his hand for Chloe's, and she shook it back.  
"Mr. Chappelle."  
"Thank you for calling me, Chloe. I believe there may be a promotion in store for you."  
Chloe goofly smiled at Chappelle before saying, "Thank you."  
Ryan moved swiftly passed Chloe to face the crowd of workers looking on. Kim Bauer stood afar, wondering what was going on.  
"I'm here because Agent Almeida is missing, if you haven't already heard. Agent Chase Edmunds is now a wanted criminal as well as Agent Ortega. We're dispatching a team to search for Edmunds and Almeida, and another team is already on its way to Kopin Institutes, where we will be placing Gael under arrest. Until then, CTU is now under lockdown procedure."  
As Chappelle continues talking, Kim realizes what Chloe has done, and runs away from the scene.  
Entering an adjacent hallway, she walks quickly to the women's bathroom and pushes the door open.  
Inside, she checks around to make sure no one is around before taking out her cell phone and dialing her father's number. Even though she was angry at Jack for disrespecting her boyfriend, she had the responsibility being his daughter to inform him what was happening inside CTU.  
Placing the phone to her ear, she listened to the tone ring several times. Finally, she got a static message.  
"We're sorry. The number you are trying to reach is unavailable. Please hang up and try your call again."  
Kim closes her phone and cannot believe that her father isn't available. It was true then.  
He had deserted her.  
  
Wanting to find Kim, Simon moved quickly through the halls of CTU, finally bumping into Kim as she walked out of the women's bathroom.  
"Simon."  
"Kim, do you believe this? Chloe betrayed us and she called in Division."  
Kim looked the other way. "I know, Simon. It's just that Chloe lives by the books. She had the opportunity to do something right, and she chose to disobey orders. She should be the one facing arrest."  
"Excuse me."  
Simon and Kim both turned around to see the figure of Ryan Chappelle emerge from a corner.  
"Simon, you're needed in Tech 1."  
Smiling, Simon said to Chappelle, "Okay. Thanks."  
As he turned away, he looked back at Kim as Chappelle approached her until he turned the corner and was gone.  
"Kim, just the person I was looking for to answer my question: where's your father?"  
"I'm not sure. He said he had some things to do."  
"Yeah, so Kim, I would really appreciate the truth here."  
Kim sighed. "Mr. Chappelle. Gael was only following orders. He isn't the one who should be facing charges!"  
"Kim. That's enough. Look, I know that your father is missing and your boyfriend is a criminal to this country, but I need you to start telling me the truth."  
That was enough to make Kim turn around. She began whimpering, struggling for the right words. "He's not a criminal. Chase must have some reason for doing what he did."  
"A reason, huh? He kidnapped a federal agent, that's assault and a felony."  
"I don't care what anyone says. I love him, and he's innocent."  
Having no interest to continue the conversation, Kimberly Bauer walked maturely away, tears flowing down her warm face, wanting to know the real truth herself. It seemed like these days, everything was a secret, someone trying to complete an objective by keeping people out of the loop. Suddenly, it hit her like a ton of bricks, again.  
She remembered her father, and the anger she felt towards him.  
Not for the first time, he had deserted her.  
  
She moved fiercely on top of the building, searching for that person she knew she saw.  
Michelle Dessler cocked her gun and reached the door that led out to the roof. Kicking it open, she pointed her gun immediately, alertness finally kicking in.  
Sensing no immediate danger, she moved slowly out into the chilly night.  
Still seeing no signs of movement, she darted outwards to the center of the roof and called out, "Whoever is up here, get down on the ground, I'm a federal agent."  
Still, nothing.  
She then proceeded to illuminate her flashlight.  
Carefully moving it around the top of the building, she still saw nothing.  
It finally hit her, here and now.  
There never was anyone.  
  
A woman moved down a hallway, opening the door at the end of it.  
Inside, it was dark and quiet. But it wouldn't stay that way; this was for sure.  
Something rested in her hand, and as she walked, her high heel shoes clonked against the floor below. Reaching the end of the relatively small room, she placed the device in her hands on the ground gently before hitting a button on it. She then picked it up and brought it over to where a small metal pipe stretched.  
  
She locked it into place and a beeping sound began.  
Knowing her mission was now accomplished, she slowly began her leave from the dark room.  
As she passed a ray of light, her name tag glowed in the dark.  
ALICIA DONALDSON  
The woman with blond hair slowly left the room, passing by a sign embroided on the wall, reading: KOPIN INSTITUTES: LEVEL 1  
  
7:49:44  
7:49:45  
7:49:46  
====================  
7:53:29  
7:53:30  
7:53:31  
  
Its propeller swirling, the helicopter began its acsent back into the dark sky above.  
Jack and his crew of three watched as it continued to ascend until it was covered with darkness and out of view.  
On top of the building they were about to search, Jack and his team looked down to the streets below them. They were six stories up, not too high in a city like Los Angeles. As soon as the noise of the helicopter was distant, Jack shouted out to his three men,  
"I want this entire place swept. Bruce, you're going with Jimmy. I want a complete seach of the rooftop, as well as floors four, five, and six. Greg, you're coming with me. We'll take the lower floors. Remember, no using any of your weapons unless you absolutely have to. We'll keep in contact through the radios; report any suspicious activity to me at once. Let's go."  
Having said that, Jack cocked his gun, and led the younger agent to the door leading down.  
The other two men went the opposite direction, searching for any signs of movement.  
Distantly on Davenport Street, right where the view ended, a large sign read, "KOPIN INSTITUTES", illuminated by the glowing of lights on the busy street below.  
  
In that distance from the apartment building where a team searched desperately for any leads they could find, Gael Ortega and a team of CTU agents stepped out of their vans and onto the grounds of Kopin Institutes. A man was walking over to them, short and bald. He had a security badge on his jacket, and he came right up to where Gael stood.  
"Agent Ortega, correct?"  
"Yeah, look, we're going to need to search the entire factory."  
"That's fine. Although I must warn you; there's just been a security breach."  
Gael widened his eyes. "What?"  
"About 10 minutes ago. Someone broke through security. We evacuated the building."  
"That's probably a good idea."  
Gael walked away from the man and up to his team of about 10 men. "Listen up, we need to be extra cautious, we've just learnt that there has been a security breach. I want this building swept, let's go."  
Gael motioned his hand and his team prepared their guns and ran off into the darkness beyond.  
  
7:54:38  
  
"Mr. President. We've just finished examining one of the chemical missiles and the news is grim."  
Colonel Julie Bender, speaking to the President via a computer screen inside of the conference room, took a moment to gather her notes before speaking to President Palmer and his chief-of-staff, Bill Lawton, who sat patiently around a table.  
"Go on, Julie."  
"Mr. President. If this chemical were to be released into the atmosphere via a missile or other device, we'd be talking about millions of casulties."  
"Millions?"  
The word echoed through his mind. Millions. How could that be possible, he thought to himself.  
Bill looked just as grim, sensing there was no hope, but he was the one who spoke next. "But we don't know if whoever that has possession of these weapons is planning to use them. All we know is that they are going to be delivered somewhere inside the United States tonight, and we need to focus upon intercepting them before they fall into the wrong hands."  
The room remained in silence until Palmer spoke again, "Ok, Julie, let me know what else you find. We'll talk with you later."  
"Thank you, Mr. President."  
The screen went black. Bill looked over to Palmer, and Palmer did the same.  
"David...I know that we need to focus on the situation but," he paused for a moment, "Ms. Moore wants to have a meeting with you."  
Palmer sighed, for he didn't know how else to react. "If we don't give in to all of her demands, then the man might not give us all we ask for. Bill, we need this information as soon as possible."  
"But Mr. President! How could you buy into these demands? They're as strange as anything. So if you want to know what I think...I think that there is more to this than meets the eye."  
"What?" Palmer did not understand what he was referring to.  
"Another conspiracy to take down your Presidency."  
Palmer slammed down his fists and closed his eyes. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, it couldn't be true. Not again.  
"Damnit!" was all he could say.  
Bill stared at him as he thought what his options were. But he then realized he only had one.  
"Tell Jenny," he stated boldly, "to set up a meeting with Ms. Moore, as soon as possible."  
Bill lowered his head. "David, you're making a mistake."  
Palmer said no more, standing up quietly from his seat and walking out of the door of the conference room, ignoring the Secret Service agents that roamed the hallways of the Military Operations Complex.  
  
7:55:45  
  
Music blasted from the speakers of Jason's sterio. Samantha sat on his bed, watching his every move. Jason lowered the volume of the music as Samantha got up from where she sat.  
"What's up?" she said.  
"I wanted to ask you something..." he stated plainly.  
"What?" she asked curiously.  
"What would you do if you ever found...a gun in...your aunt's car?"  
When he finished, Sam was at a loss for words, contemplating what she should say. "I don't know. Why are you asking a question like that?"  
"Oh...no reason."  
Then, he suddenly tackled her from behind and pinned her to the bed, where they started making out, laughing like little children, the music again roaring in the background.  
  
Pushing open the door, Gael Ortega drew his gun and moved into the dark room where he saw a red light blinking up ahead. Slowly, he moved, not wanting to attract any unnecessary visitors.  
Finally, he reached the edge of the small room where the blinking and beeping device was attached to a small pipe that ran across the room as well.  
Not wanting to trigger anything by touching it, he lowered his head to stare closely at it. After examining it for just a short amount of time, he realized what it was.  
The door of the room opened and Gael turned around, pointing his gun at the intruders.  
"Drop your weapon and place your hands behind your head."  
CTU Division officials raced into the room as Gael dropped his weapon. "Get out of here." Gael said quickly.  
The lead official spoke. "What?"  
"Get out of here!" Gael shouted.  
Gael stood there in the center of the room, his hands placed upon his head, with men all around him who didn't understand what he was talking about.  
The device at the end of the room made a loud and steady beeping sound and the red light on it flashed fastly.  
"What the hell?" one of the team members said.  
Gael knew the end had come. Dropping to the floor, he placed his hands over his face, but knowing that it wouldn't help. He knew what was about to happen.  
Like that, a huge explosion rocked the room, sending Gael and everyone else flying in all different directions...  
  
From the rooftop of the six-story building, Jimmy and Bruce both stared blankly at the explosions ripping through the building in the distance. They didn't know what was going on, all they saw were continuous explosions, over and over and over again, tearing through different parts of the building. Even from a distance, the deafening noise could still be heard.  
  
On the streets outside Kopin Institutes, panic spread. Cars were parked in the middle of the street, and people were running everywhere. The explosions were starting to die down, but the chaos was only beginning.  
Suddenly, people started collapsing to the ground as a light green, wavy substance spread through the streets and up into the sky above.  
A woman called out for her child to come to her.  
"Billy!"  
She placed her hands to her chest, and began gasping for air. But there was no air to inhale. Only poison. "Bi---ly." She began coughing up blood.  
The woman said no more as her heart finally exploded, splattering blood everywhere. Her dead body collapsed to the ground, people tripping over it as they tried to run away.  
The panic was only beginning, as more and more people began falling to the ground.  
  
On the third story of the apartment building, Jack Bauer and his partner Greg were trying to radio the other two members of the team, but they weren't responding.  
"Hello? Hello? Jimmy? Bruce? God damnit!"  
Jack threw himself down onto a broken seat.  
"What do we do now?" the younger agent asked.  
"We keep trying."  
Jack again picked up the radio, yelling out, "HELLO? COME ON!"  
  
Four stories above them, the bodies of two agents were motionless on the ground, a green mist hovering above them, engulfing their bodies and beginning to eat away at their flesh.  
  
Ryan Chappelle stood motionless in the center of CTU, trying to comprehend why his team wasn't responding. Kim sat only feet away, feeling anxious and scared at the same time. She typed at her computer, like everyone else did, trying to find the solution to what had just occured, although no one had it.  
  
On the streets outside of Kopin Institutes, the scene was purely a massacre. Blood ran rapid through the streets, pouring into the sewers that ran along side of the road. Some people were still running around, still trying to find a way to survive. The death toll continued to rise, second by second as the mysterious green mist continued to spread.  
  
Michelle Dessler sat in complete silence against a wall, trying to understand what had just happened. Had she become dillusional? She knew she had seen a figure of a man, but now it seemed like only her imagination. Tears continued to flow down her soft cheeks, already red from the crying she had done in the past hour. The stress of losing her husband was finally taking its toll upon her, and she then realized that her mind had blacked out completely, lost in another dimension.  
  
Nicole and Maurice still huddled together, watching as the body of Tony Almeida began to stir. Nicole couldn't help but think frightingly that if that was what they were capable of against a grown man, she couldn't imagine what they were going to do to her. A chill swept through her body.  
  
Jason and Sam rolled across the bed, still kissing and laughing like children. Sam gave Jason a feeling of openess, making him forget all his troubles. Yet he still knew that in the next hour, he would have to tell his parents about the gun. But for now, the danger subsided out of his mind and he focused everything on the beautiful girl that laid under him.  
  
Inside a pitch black room, a tall man stood on his phone, speaking in another language.  
"Everything is going according to plan, so far. Alicia is dead." the man inside the room was saying.  
The voice on the other end of the phone spoke this time, "Good. I'm counting on you."  
"Don't worry. He will be dead soon and the country will turn to panic."  
Suddenly, an alarm is heard in the distance. "I've got to go."  
Closing his phone immediately and placing it in his pocket, the man walked to the door of the room and opened it, revealing the blinding light outside. The noise of an alarm continued to sound, as General Andrew Hadley walked out of the dark room, curious to know what was going on.  
"Mr. President!" Agent Aaron Pierce came running over to the President, who had been walking down the hall.  
"What happened?" Palmer asked.  
"We have a sitution in Los Angeles and we need to seal you safely in a room until the threat passes. Please come with me."  
"Oh my god." President Palmer had gone blank, for he knew that something terrible had just happened.  
"Please sir, come with us."  
Secret Service swarmed the President, practically dragging him away into a nearby room.  
General Hadley watched with a gleam in his eye, as people ran up and down the hallways, the alarm continuing to sound.  
Finally, the door was closed on Palmer, General Hadley, the gleam still in his eyes, standing nearby, knowing it would be only too easy.  
  
7:59:58  
7:59:59  
8:00:00 


	3. 8:00 PM 9:00 PM

Due to some graphic violence, partial nudity, and heavy profanity --  
Reader Discretion is advised.  
  
TV  
MA  
  
Revivification  
24  
THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE  
BETWEEN 8:00 P.M. AND 9:00 P.M.  
  
The gorgeous woman with blond hair slid open the glass doors, her naked body becoming wet as the water from the shower began to soak her worn out skin. The cold, running water seeped from the shower head in a clear and consistent mist, covering her body in drops of pure water. Her hands covering her breasts, she relaxed against the wall, letting the water flow freely, drenching her entire body with water. She leaned against the wall, trying to clear her mind of what had occured over the past few hours, trying to think of other things. But nothing came to mind. She turned her back against the onslaught of water flow, and faced the wall, now stretching out her arms against the white tiled wall. She shook her head and her hair as water drops flew off into the drain below. The blond hair extended down to her upper back, and she ripped out the tie holding it all together. Her face was full of seriousness, of discipline, and of complete self-satisfaction. For the woman with blond hair was a very familiar face, and it was the same as that of Alicia Donaldson.  
  
The black pavement had by now turned to red, the color of human blood. All but a few scattered invididuals had by now fallen to the ground in agony, not dead, just unable to move or communicate in any way. Others had died completely. Sirens could still be heard in the not-too-far distance, but it was too late for that.  
People were screaming, bleeding from their noses, mouths, and eyes as the gas burned their insides. Children's cries of agony and pain were prevalent over everyone else that was screaming, becoming the forefront of the scene. It would only be a matter of time until death, not just for the children, but for everyone who stood there.  
Most of the ground couldn't be seen, as people covered it as far as the eye could see. The chemical leak had occured at one of the busiest times of day in downtown Los Angeles where many people had been enjoying the atmosphere, only to be murdered by a deadly gas. The street covered with people, the chaos was only beginning.  
  
Ryan Chappelle stood over Kim Bauer's shoulder, as she had the phone to her ear, talking with someone on the other end, and Chappelle didn't care who had it, he wanted the answer to what had just occured.  
But it seemed that no one knew, as people were flying everywhere inside the main floor, trying to communicate with someone who could help them. But it wasn't long.  
"Mr. Chappelle." Chloe O'Brien flew down the stairs from her desk, attracting the attention of the main floor.  
"What is it, Chloe?"  
"Mr. Chappelle, turn on all the screens to Video 2." she blurted out quickly.  
"Simon, turn on Video 2."  
Simon, standing feet away, turned to his computer and hit a few keys. The large screen in CTU came to life, with a frightening image.  
Chappelle was in awe. "Where the hell is this?"  
"Los Angeles, right outside Kopin Institutes."  
Chappelle turned his head to face Chloe, the geeky computer nerd standing about the same height as the Regional Director of CTU, and couldn't believe anything.  
The screen showed the streets of Los Angeles, as if a meteor just struck. People lay dead everywhere, what the screen showed was absolutely motionless.  
Everyone's faces around CTU were just as horrified, and no one dare move. Everything had completely stopped for a moment, everyone focusing their attention on the image at hand.  
Ryan Chappelle finally spoke, "I want to know what has just happened. And I want to know in the next ten minutes."  
That said, CTU burst forth into full-throttle, people once again sprinting everywhere. Chloe ran back upstairs, as Simon rushed to Tech 1, with Kim running back to her desk and picking up the phone, immediately dialing a number.  
  
While all this was going on, Jack Bauer had no way of knowing the imminent danger he and his partner were in. He was forbidden from making any outside contact with anyone, and was considered to CTU as a "rogue agent."  
Greg Caulfield stood only inches away, staring at Jack as if he were some sort of god. Screaming into his radio, he finally threw it to the ground, giving up on reaching the other two members of his team.  
As Jack sat down, Greg spoke the truth, "They're dead, Jack."  
He didn't want to believe it. They had just arrived, and already, the body count was two.  
But Greg, unlike Jack, knew the mission they both had to complete. "Jack," he announced suddenly, "we need to re-gain our focus upon the task at hand. What do we do now?"  
Jack knew the answer, "We find this man."  
As he said this, Jack moved to the window of the deserted apartment complex and looked out into the dark night. What he saw, however, was anything but the average Los Angeles night.  
"Oh my god."  
Outside the apartment building, five floors below, people lay on the ground, motionless.  
  
President Palmer sat in one of the chairs of the conference room, feeling anything but safe. Sitting around him was both Bill and Robbie, both with the same look of grimness on their faces, with more random staff members seated around the table. It was finally General Hadley who entered the room.  
Walking to the head of the table, he stated plainly, "Mr. President, as you know, we have a serious situation."  
"I know," he said, "how did this happen?" It was obvious that he wanted to know immediately what had happened.  
"For now, all we know is that around ten minutes ago, an explosion ripped through the Kopin Instititutes building, releasing a deadly chemical gas, what we know as Sin2.2."  
"I've never heard of it." Palmer stated the cold truth, because no one in the room knew what Sin2.2 was.  
"You wouldn't have, sir," the General continued. "I would like to go over with you more of this gas, but NHS is sending over a liason to brief you further. For now, I've released members of my division to control the situation in the center of Los Angeles. For now, we do know that at least 1000 people are dead and counting."  
Disorder broke out in the conference room, as staff members began starting conversations with each other.  
For Palmer, this wasn't good enough, "What do you mean, and counting?"  
"Sir, this gas is expected to spread further. Let me show you."  
On the screen beside the general, an image of Los Angeles popped up, and then zoomed out a bit.  
"This is Los Angeles. And this," the general pointed to a spot on the screen, which then immediately turned red, "is Kopin Institutes. You see, the projected area immediately affected by the gas release is relatively small, only approximately a few blocks. But..."  
The image came to life, and red spots broke up all over the screen, sparking randomly.  
Hadley continued, "The wind is expected to spread the gas all around Southern California. The good news, is, sir, that this will require no clean up. After a certain amount of exposure to air and other atmospheric conditions, the gas simply...dissipates, if you will."  
"Well, that is good news. But how long will that take?"  
The look on Hadley's face was grim. "It may take several hours, sir."  
"Damnit," Palmer exclaimed. "Then I'm going to have to issue a statement to the citizens of Los Angeles, immeidately. Bill, get Jenny on this."  
"Of course."  
Pulling out his chair from the table, Bill Lawton slowly rose to his feet and opened the door, closing it shut behind him.  
"Sir," it was Robbie was spoke this time, "are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, we already have enough to deal with today, we don't need to start a panic."  
General Hadley moved closer to the President. "He is right, Mr. President. My men already have enough to deal with. Once news of this-"  
"What neither of you get..." Palmer rose suddenly to his feet, "is that the media is going to find out about this right away. If we don't make an immediate statement, the people of this city will begin to panic. We need to get to the stations before anyone else does."  
"Yes, Mr. President," Hadley nodded.  
"Good. Now, once we have gathered more information, we'll hold furthur meetings. Until then, Andrew, meet with the other generals, and release your people onto the streets. Make sure everyone is wearing the appropriate protective material. We don't know where this gas is going to spread."  
"Of course, sir." General Hadley sat down.  
"And Robbie, contact Governor Schwarzenegger. Tell him to send out the state military. We need to control the streets."  
  
08:04:46  
  
"Hey Kim."  
The young agent Bauer looked up to see the smiling face of Dana Hamilton over her station. The older, more mature agent, a CTU veteran, a relatively tall woman with long, brunette hair, hazel eyes, and was wearing a black business-type suit.  
"Hey Dana; I thought you had been sent home for the day."  
"I was, but I heard about what was happening, figured that I better come in." she stated.  
Kim turned in her chair to face the thirty-two year old agent, and smiled.  
"Kim, I heard about Chase, and I'm sorry."  
The thought popped again in her mind, and she still continued to smile. "Me too," were the only words she could think of.  
"If you need anything, just come and see me," Dana insisted with a quick brush at her hair.  
"Yeah, thanks."  
With a final nod, Dana walked away from Kim's station, smiling the entire time.  
  
As Dana walked away, Kim's cell phone rang. She fidgeted with it inside her pocket, then finally picked it up after a few rings.  
"Bauer."  
"Kim...it's me."  
Instantly, she knew exactly who was calling, "Chase? What the hell is going on?"  
Standing up quickly from her seat, she held the phone to her ear as she pushed her chair into her desk. Heading to one of the side hallways, she walked at a fast pace.  
"Kim, I need you to listen to me."  
"Chase, what the hell is going on?" she said on she walked into an empty storage room right off of the main floor.  
"Kim, what I'm about to say to you must remain between us."  
"...fine." she said simply, leaning back against the blank wall in the small but dark room.  
"I was forced to kidnap Tony because I'm doing something for President Palmer." he said quietly, he himself hiding in a small closet.  
"What? Why would Palmer order you to do that?" she asked quickly.  
"I can't explain right now, all I can say is that I need you to make sure that no one focuses on my location. You need to do everything in your power to make sure that all leads on my location are destroyed."  
"What?! Chase, if you don't explain to me right now what is going on, I will walk out of this room and tell Chappelle!" Kim shouted, now exhausting her breath.  
"Chappelle's there? Damnit!" he said as he checked behind him again to make sure he wasn't being watched. "Listen to me, Kim..."  
There was a pause as both of them listened to the other breathe.  
"Kim," Chase began, "all I need you to do is to make sure that no one finds out what I am doing, because if you do, you are endangering the life of the President's daughter," he furiously shouted.  
Kim remain speechless, at a loss for words, unable to figure out what was going on.  
Thinking of what to say, she responded, "Chase, just tell me what is going on."  
"All I can say is that I am undercover on assignment, so for me Kim...for us."  
Those words meant so much to her. For us. And yet, it was like she was turning herself over to the dark side.  
"Kim, tell me now. Promise me. Do whatever it takes to prevent anyone from finding me."  
Kim remained speechless.  
"Kim!"  
She had made up her mind. "I'll do whatever I can, Chase."  
"Thank you, Kim."  
The line went dead as Chase hung up. Leaning against the wall, in the pitch black, she now realized something.  
If Chase was a traitor, she was now, too.  
  
08:07:04  
  
"So, President Palmer will see me?" Adrian Moore asked with a face full of curiousness.  
"Yes," Jenny Dodge responded. "Yes, he will. Right now, however, we are dealing with a crisis, so it may be a while."  
"Crisis?" the long blond-headed woman asked.  
Jenny was about to answer her with a lie, but Adrian's cell phone began ringing.  
"Excuse me." Adrian moved away from Jenny and into the hall of the Military Operations Complex.  
Flipping open the cell phone, Adrian moved down the hall. "Moore."  
"Adrian, it's Steve." he said from his office. "Have you heard what's happened?"  
"No," she said, obviously confused. "What's going on?"  
Steve, walking around his office, was reluctant to reply. "There's been a terrorist attack."  
"What? Where?" Adrian shouted, running into a nearby room.  
"Here in Los Angeles, a chemical attack."  
"Chemical?" she questioned as the flipped a remote, turning on the television.  
Immediately, a frightening image appeared on the screen. Dead bodies lay everywhere, while the female reporter talking was wearing a protective suit.  
"Oh my god." she said. "Steve, in a few minutes, I'm going to be meeting one-on-one with the President. Do you know what kind of story it would be if I found out the truth behind this attack before any other source?"  
"I know, but be careful, Adrian. You know Palmer's record with press members."  
"Don't worry," she stated confidentally. "He's all mine."  
Closing the phone, she turned off the television and smiled.  
At a time like this time, she was actually laughing in joy. She would finally be reaching the big-time. It was all she wanted.  
Fame.  
  
Sitting with Bill in the conference room, they watched the image on the screen. The same breaking news Adrian was watching was on the screen.  
"...And We're still waiting to hear from the President. The scene here, for those of you just joining us, outside of Kopin Institutes is purely a massacre. Blood has flooded the street, and the panic is spreading. Now, I am told we are being taken to the other side of town, where Cynthia Chambers is standing by."  
The image switched to that of a street full of men chanting some inaudible words. A reporter was standing nearby the lead man.  
"Sir, what do you have to say to the American public."  
The man grabbed the microphone and pushed the lady aside. "We're tired of it, ya' know. Tired of you mother fckers and their antics. We know they're responsible for what just happened. And we're not gonna put up with it anymore. We're gonna kill all of them!"  
Palmer had had enough and hit the mute button. Speaking to Bill, he turned his head and shouted, "How long until the military is ready to be mobilized?"  
"At least another thirty minutes."  
Palmer rose to his feet and turned his tall body to face the wall, "Innocent people...are going to die."  
"Mr. President, innocent people have already died."  
A solemn look was cast upon the President's face and he realized that this was only the beginning.  
  
Michelle Dessler felt sick. Garbage can nearby, her hair a mess, and her face as pale as a ghost, she continued to puke her earlier airline food up into the trash. Her knees were on the ground as she tried to get all of her stomach emptied out. Tears covered her face, and her entire body was covered with tears in her clothes, and scrapes on her legs. Thoughts of her husband engulfed her. There was nothing to think about but Tony, the man she had married; the man she fell in love with, was now gone.  
Finally, just when she began to feel a little better, she moved her head slowly back against the wall. Her body was weak, her eyes wanting to close.  
But just when she had given up all hope, she heard the sound of a light cough ways down the abandoned and dreery hall. Struggling to find her handgun near the side of her, she slowly rose to her feet.  
She cocked the gun. Standing tightly against the wall, she waited for another sound. It never came, so she decided to move in the direction in which she had heard it.  
Suddenly, she felt the cold metal of a gun pressed against her neck. "Don't move."  
A tall man stood behind her, gun ready to blow her head into smitherines.  
"I'm a federal agent looking for my husband," hoping it would help.  
As the man debated what to do, the darkness aided in helping Michelle to suddenly twist the man's arm, sending a bullet flying to the ceiling. She quickly dove to the floor, going underneath the man. As her body slid away, she fired a bullet into the man's leg, and he immediately fell down from the pain. A loud 'thump' accompanied the man's fall, and Michelle quickly got up and pointed her gun at him.  
"You're under arrest."  
  
Once again inside a dark room, General Andrew Hadley picked up his cell phone and dialed. The other end picked up immediately.  
"It's beginning," the general said.  
"I see that. And is Palmer remaining in Los Angeles?" the deep voice asked.  
Nervously, Hadley responded, "I'm working on it. One thing at a time."  
"You know, general, that this mission cannot be completed if your part fails."  
"Palmer is going to be making a press conference very shortly. It should be done then. That way, the public will learn of his death immediately."  
"We'll be keeping in touch."  
A short 'click' and the other end went dead, leaving Hadley to ponder what his next move should be.  
Walking around the room, he came to a small cabinet. Inserting his key from his pocket, he turned the lock and it opened, revealing a small metal device inside. He slowly took it out, and rested it upon a table directly below it.  
He slowly backed away, and hit the small red button on it, activating the bomb. The small light began flashing, and a timer appeared, reading 10.  
Knowing that it worked, he quickly hit the red button again, deactivating the timer, and extinguishing the light near the red button.  
Quickly, he stuffed the device back into the cabinet, nervously looking around, before walking slowly to the door and opening it, once again revealing the blinding light from outside as well as the bustling of the military complex as everyone continued running along, trying to foolishly protect the country.  
  
08:11:16  
08:11:17  
08:11:18  
====================  
08:15:39  
08:15:40  
08:15:41  
  
His body began to stir, meaning that Tony Almeida was regaining consciousness. Just feet away, Nicole Palmer and her friend Maurice still clung to each other, scared for what these men wanted from this man. His face still full of scars and bruises, the strange man's eyes opened, and he began to blink. He let out a small groan before trying to pull his body up. But he was weak, and his arms gave way, and his body crashed to the dusty ground. Yet his eyes remained open, staring at the young woman in front of him.  
"You're...the President's daughter," was all he could manage.  
Nicole, too frightened to respond, only shook her head in acknowledgement.  
Again, the man tried to push his body up, but again, he collapsed and moaned, this time closing his eyes.  
  
Outside the room where the three prisoners were, Rob closed his cell phone and threw it onto a table. Watching from afar, sitting on a bench in the middle of the dark and empty room, Chase Edmunds tried not to panic. What he had done...it was going to cost him everything.  
His train of thought was broken when Rob came up to him. "Edmunds, get up. We've got some beatings to commence."  
"Rob." was what Chase responded.  
Turning around, the taller man faced the agent. "What do you want?"  
He hesistated for a moment, but then asked, "So what do you need Almeida for anyway?"  
Rob stared at the smaller CTU agent with a grin. Just when Chase thought he was going to get killed, Rob responded, "He's got some authorization code we need."  
"What kind of code?"  
"Why do you wanna know?" Rob asked.  
Chase remained silent.  
"That's what I thought." came the reply.  
Moving away from Chase, the man walked out of the room through a small doorway, and into a hallway.  
  
Michelle Dessler's cell phone was on it's last leg, the battery had been worn down, and the antenna had by now been broken. Nevertheless, she dialed a number and place the phone to her ear. Driving down the dark streets of Los Angeles, the man she had caught before in the backseat with his hands cuffed behind his back, she turned the wheel and continued through the empty streets.  
  
At CTU, mostly everyone was heading to the conference room, but Kim was one of the exceptions. Her phone rang and she picked it up.  
"CTU, Bauer."  
"Kim, it's Michelle."  
"Michelle!" it was quite a surpise to be hearing her voice after what had just happened.  
"Kim, what is going on over there? The streets are empty all over Los Angeles." Michelle looked into her mirror to make sure the man was still restrained.  
"Michelle, where have you been? There's been a chemical leak in downtown L.A. and Chappelle just arrived here."  
"What are you talking about? What chemical leak?" Michelle asked quickly.  
"Oh my god. Are you outside in Los Angeles?" Kim shouted, now standing up.  
"Well...yes. What...what do you mean, 'leak?'"  
Kim interrupted her immediately, "Michelle, get inside a building, get a gas mask on, anything! You can't be driving in the city right now, it's not safe!"  
Michelle tried to mumble something, but her quivering lips wouldn't allow for anything to come out of them.  
"Michelle; how far away are you from CTU?" Kim now rested her body against a poll that rose from the ground up into the ceiling at the CTU. The phone to her ear, she waited for Michelle's response. Having none, and figuring that Michelle was just scared, she tried again. "Michelle, are you there? Are you near CTU?"  
Still...nothing.  
Kim Bauer placed her phone lightly back onto her desk, and fell to her chair.  
She feared that the gas had gotten to Michelle, and she wondered if it were to come to some other place soon...  
...CTU.  
  
08:17:12  
  
Jack Bauer, with Caulfield behind him, stood in thought. He had by now searched the entire place for a gas mask, but came up with nothing. He thought to himself that he had already been exposed, but he couldn't think of that right now. In a way, this acted as an advantage to him.  
"Are we gonna die?" Greg questioned of Jack.  
"I...no. We'll be fine as long as we remain in this building until we find gas masks."  
Jack reached inside his pocket as Greg watched curiously. He found his cell phone and pulled it out of his pocket. He then started to dial when he felt a hand stop him. He looked up to see Greg holding out his hand, stopping him from dialing.  
"What the hell are you doing?" Jack asked.  
Greg responded with, "Remember what the President said, Jack. We're to remain dark, we can't call anybody."  
"I just need to call CTU to-"  
"No. Jack, as far as they're concerned, we don't exist."  
When Greg finished, Jack gave him an evil look, then threw his phone back into his pocket.  
Jack sat down on the rusty metal chair that sat by itself in the middle of the room. He looked around at the dusty, white walls. They were as plain as anything. He thought of Kim, and hoped that she wouldn't be affected by--  
"Jack." Greg broke Jack's concentration by saying his name.  
"What?"  
"I was just thinking. We've got an advantage here, Jack. If this guy is in this building, he's not going anywhere until this gas is gone."  
Really needing a drink, Jack's dry lips were able to convey the following message. "You're right."  
Pushing himself up, he stood on his feet and grabbed his black jacket off the back of the chair.  
"Let's go. Grab your gun."  
Leading the way, Jack Bauer opened the door and led Greg Caulfield into the dark hallways of the building.  
  
08:18:59  
  
Jason Bulger walked down the stairs of his home, quickly turning the corner and heading down his hallway toward the door to the backyard. Reaching the large kitchen, he pulled open the door and walked outside. Lori and his mother, Kerri, sat talking with other people at one of the tables. Torches were now lit throughout the yard, as were candles, giving the feeling of an intimate setting. People were still swimming in the pool, calling his name, some of them his friends, but right now, he didn't care. He reached the table where his mother was sitting. He interrupted her speaking to his aunt, who eyed him suspiciously.  
"Mom, can I talk with you?"  
"In a minute, son," Kerri said, obviously uninterested.  
"Mom..." He stopped for a moment, hoping she would pay attention. She did, and she turned around to face him. "Mom...it's important."  
"Ok...what?" Kerri continued to be bored of the conversation. She really wanted to get back to her friends.  
"I need to talk to you in private. It's urgent. Please," begged Jason.  
"Fine."  
Kerri pushed out her chair and stood up, following Jason to their house. When they reached the door, Jason opened it for his mother and let her move inside first. Since there was no one inside the house now, Jason closed the door behind him and immediately began.  
"Mom, Lori has a gun."  
Kerri turned quickly around; she faced her son with a look of confusion on her face.  
"What?" her voice echoed throughout the house.  
"When she was driving me home today, I found a handgun in her car."  
There was an eerie silence, one of those silences that seemed to drag on forever.  
It was broken when Jason spoke again, trying to ignore the digusted look upon his mother's face, "Mom..."  
"Does Lori know that you know about the gun?" Kerri asked, a look of fear still uppn her face.  
"No, of course not. I put it back before she realized I had found it."  
Kerri finally broke down and dropped to the couch. Her face in her hands, she could not believe it. Quietly, almost in a whisper, she said to Jason, "Get me the phone."  
"The phone? Why?" the son questioned of his mother.  
"I'm calling the police, let them sort this problem out. Now get me the phone!" The mother's voice began to rise.  
"Mom! We can't call the police! We're in the middle of a party!" Jason shouted nervously.  
Kerri had had enough. She quickly rose and ran into the kitchen from the giant room they had just been in. "Fine, I'll call myself!"  
Just as she started dialing the numbers on the phone, the back door again opened and in walked Jason's aunt, Lori. Kerri dropped the phone to the floor, batteries coming out and rolling all over the floor.  
"What's going on here?" Lori asked as the entered the kitchen.  
Although extremely nervous, Kerri approached her younger sister, saying, "I don't Lori...why don't you tell me?"  
"What's that supposed to mean?" By this time, Lori was completely left in the dark.  
But Kerri spoke up, and said, this time to her son, "Jason, go get your father."  
The two sisters stared at each other, both completely suspicious of the other one as Jason re-opened the door to the backyard, leaving the house.  
Kerri spoke up, "We'll discuss this later. As for now, help me get everyone out of our house."  
Lori only nodded her head as the back door again opened, with Jason entering the house, and right behind him was Frank Bulger, a tall, skinny, and dark-haired man who closed the door behind him.  
"Kerri, Jason said it was important. What's wrong?"  
"I'll tell you about it later; right now," Kerri paused. "help me get these people home. This party's over, we've got a family emergency."  
As she finished, Lori saw the almost evil frown she receieved from her once loving sister and couldn't help but wonder what the real emergency was.  
At CTU, the briefing continued. Chappelle sat at the head of the table, while Dana, Chloe, and Simon were also present. On the screen, President Palmer, alongside Bill, General Hadley, NSA Director Taylor, and a few other military advisors were all gathered around a table on the live feed with CTU: Los Angeles.  
However, right now, a woman's voice could be heard, that of NHS Head Dr. Sunny Macer, visible on another screen. She continued speaking. "What we have been able to depict right now from this gas is that it does gradually dissolve really into thin air over time, a period we predict could be anywhere from three to six hours. But the people who have already been infected by this toxin, Sin2.2, will...die in a matter of time. The time of death depends upon how much and how long you are exposed for. But even if you are exposed to a fairly low level of this gas...death will occur in time."  
"Dr. Macer," the President began. "will this gas completely engulf the city of Los Angeles?"  
"Mr. President, right now, it doesn't look that way, sir. The explosion that leaked the gas out was not too big, meaning the area the gas will take over is relatively small. But, there will be, no doubt, some form of gas that does get caught in a draft or gust of wind that will carry it to other parts of Los Angeles."  
Chloe, clearly nervous, spoke up. "So are we safe, if we remain inside?"  
Sunny continued, "Not entirely. But it will help. Places like CTU and the Military O.C., that are built with little outdoor ventiliation should be fine. However, regular houses and apartment buildings are in question. And on a warm night like tonight...people are bound to have their windows open. And then this gas would be breathed in by people as they sleep."  
Chappelle rustled in his chair and spoke, "Then Mr. President, what do we do?"  
Palmer looked around the room at the faces staring back at him, and though they had talked about it, the plan was about to be finalized, much to his dismay. "I have no choice but to declare, in the press conference, the city of Los Angeles under martial law, and the immediate evacuation of those still alive within the threat radius specified by Dr. Macer. The military will take over the streets, and put a rest to all of the prejudice and uprisings occurring. CTU, we need you to coordinate all of these efforts. Help set-up containment sites at strategic locations around and outside the city. NHS, be ready to handle incoming victims immediately. That'll be all."  
The screens went dark as the meeting had ended. At CTU, there was a feeling of nervousness in all of their stomachs, fearing that the gas may make a stop at CTU, turning it into a graveyard. The personnel began walking quietly out of the conference room, Chappelle not moving, only staring at the image of casualty rates: already, almost 2-3% of the city had been infected, and this number continued to increase rapidly as seconds flew by.  
  
Back at the O.C., Palmer took a deep breath as Agent Pierce entered. The room was now emptied save the two of them.  
"Mr. President, we need to get you out of Los Angeles immediately," Pierce bluntly said.  
"You're going to have to give me twenty minutes, Aaron. We're safe down here, for now." And yet there was unsureness present in his voice.  
"Mr. President, if this gas gets down here, we can't protect you."  
"I know. But that's just a risk we're going to have to take. The American people need me right now."  
Although Pierce had tried to reason with the President before, he knew he wasn't going to change his mind. Knowing this, he hesitantly left the room, closing the glass door behind him. Just as Palmer was about to get up, the phone rang: his private phone. He looked around to make sure no one was watching. The room was empty, as he had forgotten.  
"Yes?"  
In a dark room, a man was cast in shadow. "Sir, it's me. It's happened."  
"What?" although he knew who was calling.  
"Sir, your daughter is--"  
The connection went dead as Palmer screamed out, "Chase!? Chase!?"  
Palmer hung up the phone and looked out the door, then back around the room, hoping that it was all a joke. But it was true.  
They had his daughter.  
  
Turning a corner quickly, her blond hair waving as she ran, Alicia Donaldson ran quickly down the hallway, a door at the end of the hall her destination. The hall was deserted, and that was exactly how she wanted it. Finally she reached the door and turned the knob. It was unlocked and she entered the room, closing the door behind her, and locking it with a small click.  
  
08:25:46  
08:25:47  
08:25:48  
====================  
08:30:13  
08:30:14  
08:30:15  
  
Jack Bauer and Greg Caulfield ducked slowly under a loose wire, guns at the ready. The hallway around them was pitch black, and both of their bodies were cast in shadow. They continued on down the deserted hallway, but not quiet hallway. From outside, the soft sounds of panic, screaming, and terror were heard. And Jack already knew what was going on outside and where these noises were coming from. Jack motioned for Greg to slow down upon hearing noises. Both men stood absolutely still for a moment before a man went flying by the two men as they watched as the man cast in shadow ran across the hallway where two halls intersected. Jack and Greg took off, running as fast as they could. Greg took the lead ahead of Jack as the two pursued the man. Even from behind, it was obvious that the man they were chasing was wearing a gas mask as he looked back over his shoulder every once in a while.  
As the man took a sharp left, Greg and Jack quickly followed, staying up with him the entire time, but not firing their weapons. However, Jack had the advantage here.  
"Stop right now, or I'll fire," he said loudly.  
The man said nothing, just continued running as fast as he could. Jack tried to scare the man by firing shots into the air as they ran, but it did no good. He couldn't risk the man being fatally shot. Not now. He was their only chance. Jack just hoped they would be able to catch him before he got outside, where Jack couldn't go without a mask, and he knew that the suspect they were chasing knew that as well.  
  
The door to the room opened and in walked three men, followed by Rob and finally Chase. Nicole and Maurice, who were started to doze off, awoke at the sound of the entrance. There had been no noise in quite a while, but that was about to end.  
Tony, now sitting against the wall, screamed out, "What the hell is going here? Why am I here?"  
But Rob only laughed at him and motioned for his three men to grab Tony. As they casually walked toward Tony, Chase watched from behind as everything was happening. He watched with disgust as the man pulled Tony up by his arms and made him stand. Tony tried to fight them, but the extra man only whacked him a few times in the face. Blood again started to ooze from Tony's nose, but no screams.  
"Get him up," Rob said as he walked over to Chase.  
As one of the men began to pull out some rope, Rob said to Chase, "Yo, we need that CTU laptop now."  
"Yeah...ok. Lemme go get it, ok?" Chase said back to him.  
"Yeah, so what the fck are you standing around here for? Move your a$$ out of here and get that computer!"  
"Yeah," was all he could muster.  
Chase turned around and began to walk back to the door, and then left.  
Rob then turned around, and with a grin on his face, watched as Tony's arms were hung up. The men pulled on the rope to make sure it was taught, and then began tying it around a pipe. The rope stretched across a pipe on the ceiling and then went down to the ground, where the men were. Tony, now too weak to do anything, did nothing but stare at Rob, who then punched Tony in the stomach. He screamed in pain.  
"You see, Tony. What we need is your CTU Director's password so we can log into your system, see?"  
Tony spit on Rob's face. "Why the hell do you need it?"  
Rob laughed, and then gave another punch to Tony's stomach. "I'll be asking the questions, ok?"  
Tony remained silent.  
Rob, however, was losing his patience. Even as Nicole and Maurice tried to ignore what was happening, they watched as Rob walked around Tony's body. Tony's torn black shirt and pants gave him the look of a wanted criminal, and yet, Nicole believed that he was an innocent man, just like herself and her friend.  
Rob continued as he walked, "So...are we going to do this the hard way? Because you know, Tony, that we here don't have all this fancy equipment you people do at CTU...so we just beat the fuck out of them. So if you don't tell me what I want to know..." he changed his tone to a whisper. "...I promise I will make you wish for death."  
Tony still said nothing.  
  
08:33:27  
  
"This way!"  
Jack Bauer called to his partner, or at least, temporary partner Caulfield. They had been chasing this man for several minutes now, and the man was still running.  
"For the last time, stop god damnit!" Jack yelled out, obviously tired of running through the building.  
But as the two men turned a corner, the man had disappeared. There was silence as Greg waited for Jack to say something.  
"Turn on your flashlight," Jack said to Greg almost so even he couldn't hear his voice.  
Seconds later, a light flashed on and as Greg pointed it down the hall, a gunshot ran out of nowhere. The flashlight dropped to the ground as Jack saw barely that Greg had been hit.  
"Go, Jack...don't worry about me," Greg blurted out as blood began gushing from his shoulder.  
"Just hang on, Greg, just lie down and try not to move it."  
Having that said, Jack took off down the hall toward where he heard the gunshot erupt, the light guiding him down the hallway.  
  
Her suspect in front of her, Michelle walked into the main CTU floor. Seeing Kim up ahead, she decided that Kim was who she needed to talk to.  
"Kim." she said.  
Kim turned around, and was surprised to see Michelle looking at her. "Michelle, thank god. I thought the gas...oh thank god..."  
"Yeah, sorry about that. My phone went dead."  
It was at this point that Kim realized that Michelle was holding onto a man in handcuffs and asked, "Who's he?"  
"Someone I believe has information about what is going on today. Listen, Kim, I need to ask Gael a favor. Do you know where he is, he was supposed to be in charge."  
Kim turned away from Michelle and said, "Michelle...Gael's dead. He was the one who led the team to the place where the chemical was released. He didn't make it."  
"What?" Michelle was extremely surprised by this news. Gael had been one of her closest friends. But for now, there were other things that needed to be done. "Who's in charge, then? Chappelle's here?"  
"Yeah, he's up in Tony's office..." Then she remembered: Tony was gone. "Have you...found anything?"  
"I hope so." She motioned to the man standing next to her. "Look, Kim, I'm going to talk to Chappelle to get caught up after I put this guy in for processing."  
"Yeah..." Kim said.  
But as Michelle was walking away, she remembered why Kim was looking so upset. "Kim...I..." She couldn't do it. She couldn't tell Kim that she had evidence that proved that Chase was a traitor to the country. Instead, she came up with something else. "Any word on your dad?"  
"No...he said he had to do something for the President."  
"It's alright, Kim. Everything's going to be fine. It will all turn up well."  
Michelle just hoped that for once, those words would have true meaning to them.  
  
08:34:43  
  
Kim watched as Michelle walked away from her with the man she had arrested. When she was out of view and after she had cleared her mind, she turned around and walked toward the hallway out of the main floor. From up above sitting at her desk, Chloe looked down over CTU as she watched as Kim left the main floor.  
Now in the hallways of CTU, Kim walked quickly. She knew what needed to be done. Reaching one of the first doors down on the left, she opened it, making sure no one knew where she was going. Once inside, she closed the door quietly behind her and moved into the room.  
The room was obviously a techie room, as computers lined all of the walls. Kim knew which one she wanted, she needed the computer that was hooked up to the entire CTU server. She walked up to the large monitor and started typing on the keyboard. Soon, a file of stored images was brought up and Kim began filtering through the picture files for the right ones. As she scrolled down, she finally found the ones she had been looking for: The satellite files of Chase's escape from CTU hours earlier with Tony. She kept on telling herself that Chase was doing what he was doing for the good of the country, and if he had called Kim for help, she was going to fulfill his wishes. She clicked on one of the images, and she knew that she would have to delete all of them so they couldn't follow where he was going. She knew that security was at this moment tracking Chase via satellite, and Kim had to end this. She hit 'Delete' and the screen went temporaily blank. Then she pressed more keys and began doing the same thing. Another image popped up and her finger moved to the delete key.  
But her finger never made it to the key. Kim was tackled to the ground as she saw Chloe holding her down. "What are you doing, Kim? You're helping Chase, aren't you?"  
"Chloe, get off of me!"  
"No, Kim. I won't let you get into trouble!"  
"Chloe, get off of me for the last time!"  
Suddenly, Kim slipped her hand out of Chloe's grip and began hitting Chloe on the face. Chloe, as a result, rolled off of Kim and onto the floor. Kim stood up as Chloe rolled over to her side to see Kim diving at her. A full-blown catfight ensued as Chloe and Kim began slapping at each other, throwing their bodies around the floor.  
Outside of the room, Chappelle walked by, and hearing the commotion and seeing the door open, he stopped walking and turned around.  
"Kim, stop it! You're going to get into so much trouble." Chloe said as Kim delivered another slap to her face.  
"What the hell is going on here?" Chappelle screamed out.  
The two woman immediately stopped fighting. Their clothes were now ripped, and Chloe's hair looked like she had just been struck by lightning.  
Chloe stood up and screamed out, pointing at Kim, "Kim was trying to help Chase! She was deleting satellite images of him!"  
"Is this true, Kim?"  
Kim, still sitting on the ground, said nothing.  
Chappelle ignored Kim's look of sadness. "Chloe, can we get the images back?"  
Chloe walked over to the computer and began typing. "Let me see."  
Chappelle gave another dirty look to Kim. Chloe stopped typing and turned around. "No. The images are gone. Not all of them, but...it's most likely that we won't be able to track Chase's location now."  
Chappelle stomped his foot on the floor, "What the hell were you thinking, Kim? You just committed treason against the United States of America!"  
Chloe turned her head away and looked down. The room was silent.  
"Kim...come with me."  
Chloe O'Brien watched as her once-friend Kim Bauer stood up. After shaking her head at Chloe, Chappelle led Kim toward the doors, opening them, and leading Kim out before closing the doors behind him, Kim never saying a word.  
  
08:36:29  
  
President Palmer, with Bill beside him, walked out into the hallway where Adrian was waiting for them. Jenny stood beside her.  
"Mr. President, Jenny said that you would be meeting with me now."  
"I'm sorry Miss Moore, but right now, we have an emergency as I'm sure you've heard and I'm going to have to ask you for a favor."  
"What is it?"  
"I'm going to need your help with a private announcement I'll be making in just a few minutes. Because of what's happened, there will be no press reporters allowed in the conference room and that's where I need you to come in. Jenny, please take Miss Moore to a private room to explain to her what she will need to do."  
  
"Of course, sir. Right this way, please." Jenny said as she opened a door and led Adrian out of the hall.  
When she was gone, Bill spoke up, "David, do you really think that it is right to have a member of the press around here? On a day like this?" He then moved closer to the President, making sure no one could hear him. "Do you sincerely believe that this man demanding that we keep this woman here is serious? He called two hours ago, and we still haven't receieved a follow-up call. Are you absolutely certain that this whole thing isn't just a...hoax?"  
Palmer looked away from his Chief-of-Staff for a moment before saying, "We can't chance it, Bill. If this man is serious and knows where the weapons are...we don't really have a choice."  
Palmer could tell that Bill disagreed with him, but for now, it was time to reassure the American public that everything would be fine.  
General Hadley walked by the two and said simply, "Mr. President; Bill."  
"General," Palmer said, nodding to the man as he walked by, and then disappeared around a corner. Once he was certain that he was alone, he smiled to himself once again, realizing that at least so far, everything was going perfectly.  
  
Jack was now walking slowly in a large room. He was certain that the man was somewhere nearby. Gun drawn, he moved closer to the center of the room. A figure jumped on top of him, forcing Jack to the ground. Jack threw the man off of him and the man fell hard to the floor. Jack regained control of his gun and aimed it at the man who was now staring straight up at him lying on his back.  
"Don't move," Jack said to him, reaching for his handcuffs as he stood up fully. "Stand up...slowly."  
Not wanting to be killed, the man cast in shadow forced his body to stand, and he quickly put his hand on top of his head. Jack grabbed his left arm and cuffed it, then grabbing his right arm and doing similarly.  
Once under control, Jack began unstrapping the gas mask on the man's head and began ripping it off.  
"What the hell are you doing?" the man asked.  
"Saving my life," Jack responded casually. The man was obviously not happy losing his life protection, but he didn't have any choice. Seconds later, the mask was completely removed as Jack began to fasten it around his head. The man didn't dare move.  
After Jack was certain that it was as tight as it could be, he said, "Let's go."  
Forcing the man to lead the way, Jack moved out of the room and back into the empty halls. He then realized that he knew where he was: he had been here before. He looked to the left and sure enough, his partner Greg's body could be seen lying on the ground, completely still. Jack ran over to him with his suspect, and knelt down.  
"Greg, Greg...do you hear me?"  
There was no answer as Jack checked for a pulse. There was none.  
Jack sighed. "Damnit...you killed this man," he said to his prisoner.  
But the man noticed something Jack didn't. He hadn't killed the man. He only fired one shot.  
And what the man saw that Jack didn't:  
There was more than one gunshot through the dead agent's body.  
  
Adrian Moore was at the podium in the empty room. "...The President and I have been friends for quite a while, and he has asked me to help him here today. And that's why I am here. So without further delay, ladies and gentlemen...I give you the President of the United States."  
  
Adrian stepped off the podium and passed by the President as she left the small room where a lone camera was in the back of the room.  
As Palmer stepped up to the podium, General Andrew Hadley stood outside the room, watcing through the glass of Palmer began his speech. Up his sleeve, a small device, blinking red, was attached to his hand underneath his usual General attire.  
"Good evening. Because I am short on time, I would like to get right to the point. At approximately 7:57 this evening, there was a chemical leak here in Downtown Los Angeles. While I cannot go into further detail describing this gas, I will say that it is..." he hesitated for a moment. "...very deadly."  
General Hadley knew it was time. Trying not to grab attention, though it wasn't hard because the few amount of people who were around were watching Palmer, he moved his fingers to the inside of sleeve, and pressed the red button. He began counting down in his head: 10, 9, 8...  
"...because of the panic spreading throughout the city of Los Angeles, I have no choice...but to declare that the city of Los Angeles..."  
3, 2, 1...  
General Hadley began to back away.  
Palmer takes a deep breath and then continues.  
"...has been put under martial law until this crisis passes."  
Just as Hadley was about to throw himself to the floor, he realized something.  
Nothing had happened.  
  
08:39:42  
08:39:43  
08:39:44  
====================  
08:43:19  
08:43:20  
08:43:21  
  
President Palmer, now finished with his speech, walked out of the room where he was making his speech, and was immediately approached by Agent Pierce.  
"Mr. President, we need to again lock you down, sir. I'm sorry."  
"What's going on now, Aaron?"  
"It's Alicia Donaldson, sir. She's somehow slipped back into the complex, and we've found three dead guards and one dead military official so far."  
General Hadley, upon hearing of this news, realized why the bomb hadn't gone off, and immediately took off down the hall.  
"Please, sir, follow me."  
Palmer followed Pierce as more Secret Service agents began pouring into the hallways, guns drawn, searching for the missing woman.  
  
Frank Bulger moved into the master bedroom where his wife, Kerri, was sitting on the bed, still in horror.  
"So tell me this again, Kerri. What exactly did Jason say?"  
"He said...he said that he found a gun inside of Lori's car." Frank could tell how difficult this was for his wife. He felt the thoughts swarming through his wife's head.  
Still, Frank said nothing. He wasn't sure what to say at a time like this.  
"What are we supposed to do, Frank? She's my sister for god's sake! She's my sister and she has a gun! Why the hell would an accountant carry around a gun?!"  
"Maybe it's for protection."  
"Screw protection. Why have one in your car?" Kerri finally broke down completely. "You know what, I think it's time we let the police sort this out."  
Kerri dove for the phone on her dresser, but Frank stopped her. "No...no! You need to talk to her before we bring the authorities into this."  
But Kerri seemed reluctant. "Frank...I don't know if I'll be able to talk with her. It won't be the same..." and still, the tears were hard to hold back.  
"You have to...c'mon. Just try to clean yourself up a little bit...and then we'll talk to her." But what he said next changed everything. "...for Jason."  
  
08:44:32  
  
Jack Bauer, gas mask securely in place, picked up a metal chair and motioned for the man to take a seat on it. He did, and then Jack got right down to business.  
"So...I see your name is Lawrence..."  
The man named Lawrence said nothing but, "Am I safe in here? With that gas loose outside of here?"  
"Yes, as long as we keep everything closed."  
The man seemed sure he was safe, and the steel door entrance to the room only heightened his confidence.  
"So, Lawrence...why don't you tell me this: When and where are these missiles going to be delivered?"  
"I don't know what you're talking about."  
"Oh, don't give me that bullsh!t about not knowing anything. You were firing at a federal agent, you're obviously up to something."  
The man said nothing.  
"Damnit, I am running out of time here. Tell me now! When are these missiles going to be delivered?"  
The man finally smiled and said to the federal agent, "Don't you get it, Jack? You're never going to survive this."  
Jack starred the man in the eyes, "How do you know my name? And what do you mean by 'this?'"  
The man realized that he now had the advantage and he was going to use it.  
  
Tony's screams of agony echo through the room. Nicole and Maurice are now huddled together once again, scared for their lives, and scared at having to watch the brutal beating of the man in front of them. Chase stood just behind where Rob stood, the look on his face showing that he hated what was going on and hating what he had gotten his friend into. But it was his duty.  
The beating continued. The three men continued to pound Tony all over his body. Rob now motioned them to stop for a moment.  
Tony's body was a wreck. He ached all over, and he was too weak to even speak.  
"Now, Tony. Let's not be silly here and waste my time. Because if you do..."  
Rob reached his arm up to Tony's hand and grabbed his index finger, pulling it backwards until a loud 'snap' was heard. Tony screamed like he had never screamed before. He could no longer hold in the tears, tears of anger, tears of pain, tears of betrayal.  
"You see Tony. I just broke one of your fingers. And I will break another one if you don't give me the god damn password!"  
Tony said nothing and didn't even try to move.  
"Fine...have it your way."  
The men then began to beat him again without remorse.  
Almost out of the shadows, Chase emerged and yelled out, "Stop! Stop for a second."  
The four men looked at the agent and waited for what he had to say. "You're going to kill him! At least give him time to regain his thoughts."  
Rob smiled at this remark and then beckoned for his men to back away from their prisoner. "You're right, Chase. We don't want to hurt anyone too bad now, do we?"  
Without any warning, Rob pulled out a gun and aimed it at Nicole.  
"What the hell are you doing?" Chase screamed.  
"Chase, if you keep going against me, I promise you, I will kill you in the most painful way imaginable. Now, shut the fck up!"  
Rob turned to face Tony, "If you don't give me the password now, I will kill the President's daughter.  
Tony's mind went into a panic. He couldn't let Palmer's daughter die like that, and if he told them what they wanted to know, he was certain that they would just kill him.  
"Come on, Tony. You are out of time! You're going to tell me now, or she dies!"  
Nicole, gun aimed directly at her head, dared not move. Tears streamed down her face. She was too frightened to do anything so she remained perfectly still and closing her eyes, hoping that when she would open them again, she would wake up and be out of this nightmare. But unfortunately for her, this was no nightmare. It was reality.  
Rob was done playing games, "Fine!"  
He turned the gun from Nicole to Maurice and fired a single shot into his forehead. He was dead before his head touched the ground.  
"No!!!" Chase screamed out.  
Nicole Palmer looked over to her friend's body and saw the expressionless look upon his face. "Nooo, oh god no!"  
Putting her head down to his heart, she wept in utter silence as Tony realized his stubbornness had cost him an innocent life.  
  
08:47:26  
08:47:27  
08:47:28  
====================  
08:51:45  
08:51:46  
08:51:47  
  
Kim Bauer sat with Michelle in the CTU Conference Room. Ryan Chappelle was speaking to her, but her mind was elsewhere.  
"Kim!" Ryan said, "Kim!"  
Finally, Kim was brought back to reality. "What?"  
"Kim, let me just refresh your mind. You were caught by Chloe deleting records of Chase Edmund's escape from CTU, he's a suspect now in a federal crime in which he kidnapped Tony Almeida and you were caught hindering the active investigation! It's as plain as that!"  
Kim wanted to tell them both the truth of what Chase was doing, but she knew that wasn't what he intended for her to do with the information he had given to her.  
Michelle remained silent, too wrapped up in her own thoughts to do much of anything.  
"Kim, you know what? I want you to leave." Chappelle bluntly stated.  
"What? Why? I can be an asset to what is going on!" Kim said back to him.  
"Oh, you can be an asset by halting investigations and beating up CTU employees? Not going to happen, Kim, not today at least. If you leave now, I'll have all charges against you dropped...if you leave now. You shouldn't have been here in the first place with your boyfriend suspected of a crime and your father going dark. You have five minutes to get out of this building."  
"But what about the chemical!"  
"You can pick up a mask on your way out. Just do yourself a favor and get out of Los Angeles before something else happens." Having said that, Chappelle stood up and left the room.  
"Kim--" Michelle started, but Kim stopped her.  
"You don't have to, Michelle. Let me get out of your way."  
Kim gave a brief smile to Michelle and then also stood up, and left the room.  
Michelle couldn't help but to feel sorry for Kim. While she did do something wrong, she didn't believe that she should be sent out of the city for one mistake. But since Chappelle was here, she had no choice.  
She, too, stood up, and began walking toward the door when she all of a sudden felt dizzy and nauseous. She placed her hand on a chair to support herself, and then seconds later, it went away. 'It couldn't be,' she thought to herself. But then again, she couldn't be sure. She hoped that what had just happened to her was just the stress of the day, but somehow, she didn't think so.  
  
"You are going to tell me what you know, now."  
Jack Bauer was losing his patience with the man, who was still smiling at him.  
But it was then that Jack got an idea as he looked toward the window. "If you don't tell me now...I'll bring you outside and I'll leave you out there until you die."  
The smile on the man's face instantly faded and it turned to a frown of disbelief. "You wouldn't..."  
"Yes, I would if you don't tell me what I need to know." Jack began to walk to the window. He unlocked the window.  
"Tell me now...or I'll open the window." Jack smiled underneath his mask.  
"The gas may not even come in." Lawrence said, although not too convinced.  
"Maybe not...why don't we...test it?" Jack began to open the window before the man screamed out.  
"Stop! Stop, I'll tell you! I haven't been making the calls; I don't know anything about what is going on today. But I do know that I haven't made those calls to the President. I was only relying the calls through a phone feed so it would look like the calls were coming from this location. I didn't make them. I only sent them. I was trying to protect an old friend..."  
"Who have you been covering up for, huh?"  
"...Adrian Moore...the press reporter who's been with the President for the past few hours. She's been doing this whole thing for her own benefit, that's what she told me!"  
Jack couldn't believe it. "Do you believe her?"  
"No...because I know that she has terrorist connections."  
"Oh my god...Are you telling me that the President's life is in danger?"  
Lawrence hesitated for a second, "I don't know..."  
Jack grabbed his phone and began dialing a number. He had to get through with the President, at least to warn him.  
"...we're sorry, but the number you are trying to reach is not available. Please hang up and--"  
"Damnit!" Jack was frustrated now. He would have to try and call again.  
  
08:54:05  
  
"Jason, could you excuse me and my sister for a few minutes. We need to talk."  
Jason looked over to his mother. "Sure mom. I'll be upstairs...with dad."  
Kerri watched as her son ran up the stairs and out of sight. When he was gone, she moved closer into the kitchen toward Lori, who stood up.  
"Who do you think you are by bringing a weapon into my house?" Kerri immediately got to the point.  
"What are you talking about?" Lori said, a shocked look upon her face.  
"I'm talking about this!" Kerri revealed a handgun that has been hidden behind her back since she came downstairs.  
"It's not mine!"  
Kerri looked into her sister's eyes and saw the fear inside her body, then said ominously, "You're lying to me. It is yours, isn't it? What are you doing with a gun?"  
A small grin had formed across Kerri's face, one which could only be from the look of an insane person. "Tell me the truth. Tell me that this is your gun and tell me why you keep a gun in your car."  
Lori slapped her sister, "It's not mine. I'm telling you the truth. I don't keep guns and I don't know why there would be a gun in my car."  
Kerri was astonished at what her sister had just done to her. "Did you just hit me?"  
"God damnit, Kerri, even when I was a child you didn't believe anything I said or did, remember that? You remember that, right? And now, you live the good life. You have friends and a family. What do I have? I have nothing but my job and you guys. You're the only family I've got and now you're trying to deprive me of that! You know what, I've had enough of it!"  
Her last words were shouted. As she finished, she gave one last disgusted look to her sister, then found the door downstairs to the guest room, opening the door, and then slamming it shut behind her.  
  
President Palmer sat with Bill in a small room, where they were waiting for the lockdown to end. Palmer had been pacing for a while now, and Bill finally inquired of him as to what was on his mind.  
"David...what's wrong?"  
Palmer pulled out a chair and began to sit down. He looked at his hand, the hand that had been scarred years ago. He breathed heavy, then spoke. "I did something I shouldn't have, without telling anyone...I think my daughter may have been kidnapped...by terrorists."  
Bill stood up immediately, "What!? David, what are you talking about?  
"I sent an agent undercover so that we could track my daughter. I've known for weeks now that this could happen. Nicole's been involved with the wrong type of people and now...I just receieved a call about a half-hour ago from that agent...telling me that it has happened. That they have my daughter."  
"Oh my god..."  
Palmer sat in silence for a moment, thinking what to do. It came to him, and he realized that it was something he had to do.  
"Give me the phone."  
Bill looked back up to the President.  
"What?"  
"Give me the phone."  
"Why?" Bill asked.  
"Please...just give me the phone. Can I have a moment...alone?"  
"...sure." Bill gave Palmer the phone in his pocket and then stood up again and left the room. Palmer began to dial a number he had on memory.  
It started to ring. It rang twice. Right on the third ring, someone on the other end picked up. It was a feminine voice, one that he recognized well.  
"Hello?"  
"Sherry...it's David."  
"David...David, I saw your press conference, what the hell is going on?"  
"I'm in Los Angeles right now, but I'll be leaving soon."  
"Oh my god, David. You have to leave now! You can't be in Los Angeles tonight after what just happened!"  
"I know Sherry, but we're having some issues here right now. But what I want to talk to you about has nothing to do with what has just happened in Los Angeles."  
"Alright...what is it, David? What's happened?"  
  
Palmer stood up. "It's Nicole...she's been kidnapped...by people who have known terrorist connections."  
Sherry was paralyzed with astonishment at first, but then said to her ex-husband, "Oh my god, David. How did this happen!? How did this happen, David!?"  
Her voice was rising, her breathing sounded like she was panicking.  
"Look, I have an undercover agent right now watching over Nicole, one whom I trust with my life. And if he get can Nicole out before she is handed over to...terrorists, the problem will be resolved."  
"David...I'm scared."  
"So am I. I have to go now, Sherry, but I'm going to have Secret Service come get you and to meet me aboard Air Force One in a few hours."  
"Oh god..." Sherry cried.  
"Sherry...we need to be strong. Just hold yourself together...and we'll get through this."  
"Be..." she stuttered, "...be careful David."  
"I will be. Goodbye Sherry."  
  
08:57:00  
  
As panic spread through the Military Operations Complex, General Andrew Hadley was calmly searching through all of the rooms for Alicia before the Secret Service found her. He continued down the hallway until he found a door that no one had checked yet. He quietly turned the knob and entered the room.  
Once inside, he moved into the room and shut the door quickly, but quietly, behind him. The room was dark, and he was about to leave when the lights turned on, and he realized that someone was holding him at gunpoint. It was Alicia.  
"Hello Andrew. Yes, I know that you are surprised that I am alive, but as you've just seen, I'm smarter than you."  
Andrew was furious, "You stopped that bomb from going off that would have killed Palmer! Fck you! We were supposed to be working together today; not against each other!"  
Alicia hit him on the head with the gun, "You stupid a$$whole sent me to my death. Lucky me that I have my double. I was certain that you were sending me on a suicide mission, you told me that gas would do no harm to me. So just to be sure, I had one of my associates go instead of myself."  
Andrew said to her after a prolonged silence, "I thought you loved me."  
"I did love you until you became too selfish for your own good. I would love to be with you, Andrew, you really are a decent man; but our group has split and you're not welcome by my superiors. Our entire faction has become a constant war. We can't live together, or we'll both be killed. That's why you need to be killed. Because what is going to happen today...is more importanat than your life. You were using me so you could get information from me to tell him and that's not acceptable. Especially not today..." She stopped for a moment before continuing. Andrew was now sweating all over his body. "...it's over, Andrew. If we don't take our lives, they're going to find out more than they should know."  
When she finished, she motioned to another gun that was sitting on a table that Andrew hadn't seen. "Die nobly for your cause, Andrew. Take your own like. I don't want to kill you."  
Andrew stopped staring at Alicia, then slowly reached for the gun. Already ready to go, he put the gun to his head.  
"For freedom, Andrew." Alicia said.  
"For freedom..." After just seconds of though, he pulled the trigger, blowing his head into smitherines, and killing him. Blood splattered all over the walls, and his body fell to the ground.  
Having watched her former lover commit suicide, Alicia turned away from the ghastly sight, and put the gun to her head. Just as she was about to pull, the door flew open, and Alicia was thrown to the ground before she could take her own life. She reached for the gun, but the room was filled with Secret Service and military personnel in seconds, and she couldn't do anything.  
Cuffing her hands behind her back, Agent Adam Longley said into his radio, "We have Alicia Donaldson in custody."  
  
President Palmer sat alone in the room when Bill entered. "We've got her." As Bill left the President alone once again, he breathed a big sigh of relief. He could finally leave Los Angeles. But just as happy that this situation was finally over, he couldn't help but wonder if Chase had been killed a half hour ago. If so, all hope was lost. He thought of memories of Sherry, himself, and their children living together under one roof, but those days were never to happen again. He hoped that he hadn't made a mistake by calling Sherry, but he knew that it was his obligation to her to keep her informed of what was happening with their children, and yet, as he sat there alone, he could only hope that Sherry would do nothing stupid this time around.  
  
Chase Edmunds could do nothing as he watched as the men beat the living crap out of Tony. He kept on shaking his head when they weren't paying attention to him; he was so disgusted with himself. Nicole sat only feet away, still holding her head to her friend's heart, hoping that it would suddenly come alive. She was alone now, there was no one there for her. She would have to escape from this situation herself. She watched as the most recent punch to Tony's head sent blood trickling all the way down his body, the drops of blood beginning to form a small red pool at his feet. His screams of agony continued.  
  
Kim Bauer, a gas mask around her face, drove through the streets of Los Angeles. While being stopped every so often by the military, she showed them her CTU badge so she could make her way out of the city as quickly as possible. But for now, the streets around her were deserted. Yet she couldn't concentrate on driving, not now, not after what had just happened. The tears in her eyes were making it hard to see where she was driving. Thoughts of her father, Chase, and thoughts of those poor people exposed to the deadly gas raced through her mind. But the one thing she yearned for at this moment was a mother. She remembered Teri, and how much she loved her and how much she loved when her mother stroked her blond hair gently like any mother would. She wanted her mom back.  
  
Panic ensued on the streets of Los Angeles as more military officers arrived every minute, trying to enforce martial law upon the citizens. There was panic as people began coughing up blood, while others were attacking other people. A small child sat on the curb, her entire face covered in blood, crying, and holding her kitten in her arms. She watched as a group of people crowded around a Middle Eastern family, hitting them with bats and clubs. Military personnel were trying to control the situation, but the panic was too much. They were forced to start killing people who got out of hand. An older man was screaming for help, one sympathetic to the Middle Eastern people. He motioned some military over to the other side of the street, where a mother holding her child had been killed. A rookie military officer, stepping out of the van, cried out in agony, "My fuckin god..."  
  
The wind blowing her white dress and her beautiful brown hair, Kerri Bulger stood on the edge of her yard staring down into the valley below, totally oblivious to everything that was happening just miles away. She needed some time to think things over, to contemplate whether or not her sister was actually telling the truth. She felt sorry for her son, who watched from inside the house, knowing that this entire situation was hitting his mother the hardest.  
  
Jack continued trying to reach the President, but he couldn't do it. Frustrated, he hung up the phone and placed it on the table.  
"Is there anything else we could do while we wait?" Jack asked Lawrence.  
With hesitation, Lawrence replied, "...I have Adrian's cell phone number."  
Jack looked up and began to formulate a plan inside his head. "Good...this is what we are going to do. You're going to call this woman, and you are going to tell her that you need to talk with her in person. And then you are going to set up a meeting with her someplace in the city, got it?"  
"Yeah..." The man nodded.  
"Good. Now what's the phone num--"  
Boom.  
A loud noise just cut Jack off. Seconds later, it happened again.  
Boom.  
Jack looked toward Lawrence, and saw that he was smiling.  
"What the hell is going on?"  
Boom.  
"They're here, Jack." A huge grin formed across his face.  
"Who? Who's here?" Jack asked the man.  
Boom, boom.  
The man only smiled.  
"Who are they!? Who's here!?"  
"They're here for you, Jack. They're here to kill you."  
Jack grabbed his gun off the table and looked over to Lawrence one last time.  
Then it came.  
Bang. Bang. Bang.  
  
Outside the room and behind the steel door, an army of men waited in silence for the door to open.  
  
08:59:57  
08:59:58  
08:59:59  
09:00:00 


End file.
